


Common Ground

by Gryph



Category: Planet of the Apes (TV)
Genre: Other, Post-Canon, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-31
Updated: 2011-11-16
Packaged: 2017-10-23 07:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 58,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/247505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gryph/pseuds/Gryph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While fleeing from Urko, the three fugitives stumble onto an advanced civilization, a city called Alba. The residents of the underground utopia seem willing to help Burke, Virdon, and Galen in their quest to find a way home. But when an old enemy threatens the city, they soon discover that the Albans harbor a terrible secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. But A Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the fabulous kassidy for beta-ing. And to Dave B. for the gorgeous cover he made for me.

 

 _Memory moves us past each other  
Time is a ribbon without end  
Love is the lesson we keep learning  
Death but a moment we must spend_

 

Alan Virdon shielded his eyes as he looked out over the stretch of sand. Behind him, his companions—a dark-haired human and a chimpanzee—knelt by a stream filling water skins. After two days of hiking through the trees and dense undergrowth, the lush vegetation had stopped abruptly. A few dozen yards beyond the stream, the soil under foot turned sandy, and for as far as Virdon could see, the dunes rippled beneath wind and sun, dotted periodically by rocky upwellings.

The other human came forward to stand next to his blond friend. He raised his hand to his forehead and also gazed at the wasteland ahead. “Well, what do you think?” he asked. Even under the shelter of the forest’s edge, the temperature was climbing. 

“I don’t know, Pete.” Alan brought his hand to his chin and absently rubbed it. “Could be the Mojave, maybe Death Valley. Or it could be that the climatic changes over the last thousand and some years have created deserts where there were once cities or forests.  I’m not exactly sure how far we are inland, so who knows. We’re a long way from Central City and the coast, that’s for sure.”

“So what do we do, turn back?” After months of running from the apes that controlled the area where their ship had crashed, Pete Burke still deferred to the decisions of his commanding officer. Even their chimpanzee companion Galen tacitly agreed to the leadership of a mere human. Virdon pushed them ever onward in his own quest to find a way for him and his fellow astronaut to return to their own world—this world, only over a thousand years in the past.

“We will, if we know what’s good for us,” Galen interjected cryptically. The chimp had been acting more and more nervous over the last couple of days, and it was beginning to wear on Burke’s last nerve.

“Ok, Galen, something’s been eating you. Spill it.” Burke turned toward the chimp, hands on hips.

“Nothing is ‘eating me,’ although if we go in there,” he gestured toward the sandy expanse, “that could change.”  Both humans were now giving him quizzical looks. “This is the Forbidden Zone. Nobody goes in there. At least, not if they expect to come back out.”

“What exactly is that supposed to mean, Galen? Remember, we’re not from around here,” Burke pressed.

Galen sighed in exasperation. “There are legends. Horror stories used to frighten children. But Zaius told me that long ago, expeditions of apes were sent to explore. Most of them never returned. The few who did talked about being attacked by monsters that killed and ate apes. No one has gone back there in a long, long time.”

Virdon pursed his lips and cocked his head, as if listening to some sound that only he could hear. He knelt in the sandy soil and picked up a handful, letting it trickle back out between his fingers. “Well,” he said, standing up abruptly, “if we wanted to go on, we would need supplies to take with us. Water at least, and more than we can carry in these small bags. My suggestion would be to camp here tonight. Maybe try to skirt the edge heading north and see if we can go around. Unless something interesting presents itself. But right now, it just looks like endless sand.”

Galen scowled, “Are you telling me you seriously want to consider going in there? Haven’t you listened to a word I said?”

“Galen, I hear you. But somewhere out there,” he pointed straight ahead across the expanse, “is Houston, that I’m sure of. I seem to remember from the map in the Council chamber that there are settlements running just north of the Forbidden Zone that stretch pretty far east. Look, I agree that we don’t want to try our luck in a desert when we aren’t sure how far it extends. So if we go around it, will that satisfy you?” Galen gave a small nod of concession. Virdon turned back to squint across the sand again, as if he could see his destination in the distance. “Man, what I wouldn’t give for a couple of camels, huh, Pete?”

Burke smirked, “Yeah, just be careful what you wish for. I hear they spit worse than a gorilla.” He glanced surreptitiously behind him at Galen, who was wrinkling up his muzzle at the astronaut’s imagery.

“Apes do _not_ spit. Not even gorillas,” the chimp growled. “ _That_ is a nasty _human_ habit.”

******

Darkness came quickly to the desert, with no real twilight over the sandy reaches. And with the darkness, the temperature dropped. The fugitives decided to chance a fire, a rare luxury when they were trying to avoid detection by patrolling gorillas. They had made several trips back into the wooded area before dark to gather wood and food. They found some large waxy leaves that they could use to wrap extra food for their packs in case supplies became scarcer further along.

Alan took the first watch, as usual, while the others got some much-needed rest. The sky above the desert was crystal clear, and he passed the time looking at the stars, trying to imagine how all the old constellations from Earth’s past would look now. Was that cluster of five stars Cassiopeia? It was shaped a little more like an X than a W, and who knew how the wobbling of the Earth’s rotational axis would affect the positions of the stars in the celestial sphere, assuming he was even right about the date.

The landscape stretched out before him, the shadows of the rippling dunes seeming to move and dance in the flickering light of the fire. The desert could definitely play tricks on the mind—that much he remembered from trips to the Salt Flats in Nevada to train for missions. But here and now, it was peaceful. And quiet. Aside from the occasional snoring from one of his companions, the only sounds were the soft susurrations of small animals moving through the sand in front of him or through the underbrush of the forest behind him.

And eventually, his thoughts turned to his family as they did almost every night during his watch, especially when it was as uneventful as this one. A thousand years ago, had Chris looked at these same stars through the telescope he'd gotten for Christmas? To him, they would always be frozen in time just as they were on the day he left. Chris would always be ten years old; Sally would always be his beautiful wife just starting to experience the passage of her middle years. He couldn’t bring himself to think of them aging, living their lives without him, eventually dying, and turning to dust. No. Best not go there.

He was just getting a bit maudlin when he heard stirring behind him, shuffling footfalls. A hairy hand came to rest on his shoulder.

“Alan,” Galen spoke his name quietly. “Why don’t you go ahead and get some rest? I’m up now, and it’s too cold to get back to sleep right away. I’ll watch and wake Pete when I get tired again.”

Virdon turned his head toward his friend with a small nod of thanks. Sometimes Sally came to him in his dreams. Maybe tonight would be one of those nights.

******

They started out the next day trudging through the scrubby underbrush along the margin of the desert. A few stunted trees provided a pittance of shade, but that didn’t prevent the arid breeze from making them hot and uncomfortable. Just as the sun was reaching its zenith, they came to a small sheltered gulch that gave more shade. They stopped and ate a quick lunch from their packs.

Virdon was reshouldering his pack when Galen spotted the four figures on horseback silhouetted against the high sun, as they reined in on the rise the fugitives had just walked down that morning. Gorillas, and one of them wore a familiar helmet signifying a general.

Urko! Virdon had been sure that they had left the ape commander far behind. They hadn’t seen a gorilla soldier in weeks, and he figured they had finally traveled too far east for Urko to follow. And now he turned up again like a specter from the past, still dogging their trail.

Without any signal, the three fugitives began to flee, running for the cover of the trees beyond the scrub. The ring of thick vegetation that surrounded the Forbidden Zone would make pursuit on horseback difficult and provide ample hiding places for the three to hole up if they could get far enough ahead of the gorillas to disappear. As they ran beneath the first real trees, they heard the exclamations of the gorillas. They were spotted. The sound of hoof beats followed them into the broken quiet of the forest.

They crashed through the thick undergrowth, Burke in the lead, being the most long-legged and nimble. Virdon held back to stay with Galen, who had more difficulty running over the uneven terrain. Burke’s head swung back and forth scanning for the best and easiest route through vegetation. Occasionally, he glanced back over his shoulder to make sure he didn’t get too far ahead of his friends.

The three fugitives broke through the trees into a clearing, unprepared for the sight they found there. Across the grassy ground lay a tumble of cut stone blocks. They could see even from this distance that they were engraved with large letters.

“V E G       – A L B         E  R  Q  U        H Y         R T U B E”

Burke skidded to a halt, pointing to the stones with one hand, the other stopping his blond friend. “Alan, look!”

“Not now!” Virdon looked back over his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of their pursuers. Galen pulled up on the other side of Burke.

“What?” the chimp asked, then followed his friend’s outstretched hand. “Oh!”

“No time now, we’ll have to come back,” Virdon ordered, disappointment heavy in his voice. He clapped Burke on the shoulder and started forward again. The other two followed.

About halfway across the clearing, the world dissolved into chaos.

******

Before he even opened his eyes, Virdon felt the pain of a heavy weight pressing on his legs. He tried to take a deep breath, but instead his mouth filled with dirt that set him coughing. When he reached up to brush the dirt from his eyes, he realized he was on his stomach, his face half buried in soft earth. It wasn’t until he tried to roll over that he remembered the pressure on his legs. He levered himself up on his elbows enough to look over his shoulder at the pile of loose debris covering part of his lower extremities.

“Pete? Galen?” he called. No answer.

Slowly, he pulled each leg free and considered himself lucky that neither snagged on anything sharp or jagged. Miraculously, other than a general ache that reached a crescendo in his head, he seemed uninjured. Looking up at the daylight slanting down through the ragged opening above, he estimated that he must have fallen at least twenty feet into… wherever this was. The crumbling brick and concrete walls curved as they rose, suggesting a vaulted ceiling where there was now a gaping hole.

“Pete! Galen!” he called again.

A couple of yards away was another larger pile of rubble—big blocks of concrete with rebar rods tangled and twisted, now partially covered with a layer of broken bricks and dirt. It wasn’t until he got closer that he saw the human form lying among the wreckage. He hurried over to his fellow astronaut, panic tight in his throat. He reached for the outstretched arm, gripping the unresponsive hand and feeling at the wrist for a pulse. So much blood, spreading a crimson stain across the lower right half of the blue shirt, a piece of broken rebar protruding from its center like an arrow in a bull’s eye. Another patch grew around a shorter piece of ribbed metal jutting from Burke’s left shoulder. His head lolled to one side, inclined lower than the wounds on the slanted rubble.

There. A flutter of a pulse.

“Alan?” Virdon heard Galen call weakly. He skirted around the mound where Burke was impaled and found the chimpanzee a short distance away, slowly climbing to his feet, covered in dirt and dust.

“Are you all right?” Virdon asked urgently as he helped pull Galen upright.

The chimp put a hand to his head, his other arm held close to his body. “I… I think so. Where’s Pete?”

“He’s hurt. Come on.”

When they got to Burke’s side, he moaned softly, his right hand swinging over to press protectively around the metal rod impaling his flank.

“Pete,” Virdon urged, “open your eyes, buddy.” He shucked off his vest and put a hand under the dark head to slip the padding in place. It also gave him a chance to check Burke for any head injuries. _Like that’s really going to matter._ The thought came to his mind unbidden, and he dismissed it quickly. Galen stood to one side, a hand on over his mouth to stifle the whimpering noise that was his first reaction to the grisly sight.

Burke’s eyes opened slowly as another moan escaped him. His gaze roamed over the metal protruding from his body and the bloody smear when he lifted his own hand, to eventually focus on Virdon. As blue eyes locked with brown, the awful revelation passed between them unspoken.

He was going to die, and there wasn’t a damn thing any of them could do about it.

******

Urko maneuvered his horse through the trees, pushing the animal as fast as it could safely trot through the low hanging branches. Three mounted gorillas followed in his wake. He had not glimpsed the fugitives since he had watched from the hillside as they fled into these woods. They had to be here somewhere, nearby.

The three soldiers were handpicked for their loyalty to him. Zaius and the High Council had warned Urko that he was not to pursue the fugitives past the eastern borders of the territory they controlled. When he reached those limits, he had planned to stop and go home.

But in the village of Nimar, he heard rumors of an ape and two humans who fit their description. And they had passed through only a week before. That was two months ago. By the time he realized he’d lost their trail again, he was well past the limit the Council had set. He sent back most of the patrol and kept only the three gorillas he trusted the most, then continued on his search. And now he had found the fugitives again. This time, they would not get away.

******

 “Alan, we have to do something,” Galen insisted in hushed tones as he pulled his friend a few feet away from Burke. “We can’t just leave him there.”

“There’s nothing we can do, Galen. We can't get that bar out of his side, it's too long. Even if we could, it wouldn’t make any difference. He’s bleeding internally, and we have no way to stop it or repair the damage. Trying to move him would just cause him more pain.”

“So that’s just it? All your _advanced_ knowledge, all your cleverness and ingenuity, and there’s _nothing_ you can do?” The bitterness in Galen’s tone shocked Virdon.

“Not a thing except to try to make him as comfortable as we can.” His shoulders slumped in defeat, making Galen regret his outburst.

“Oh, Alan, I’m sorry. It’s just—“ his voice broke. “How long does he have?”

Virdon rubbed a hand over his face, trying hard to not let all the emotion he felt show. “I don’t know. Maybe an hour or two.”

“Al?” Burke’s voice quavered.

Virdon returned to Burke’s side, grasping the outstretched hand. “I’m here, Pete.”

“Thirsty,” he rasped. Virdon took the waterskin from around his neck and lifted his friend’s head so he could drink a little.

“Not too much.” After a few sips, Burke nodded that he was done. Virdon wet a scrap of cloth and wiped down his pale face. “How bad is the pain?”

“Oh, y’know, I’ve had hangnails that were worse.” But he winced as a spasm forced a pained moan from him. He gripped Alan’s hand again and squeezed hard. “Distract me, Al. Where the hell are we?”

Virdon looked around and saw Galen poking aimlessly amid the ruins, trying to find something, anything that they could use to help their friend. The main area that they were in looked like a waiting area with the shadow of a stairway leading upward, half blocked by a pile of rubble. A small tree on the edge of the clearing had tipped over in the cave-in and now rested on the other side of the room. They could easily climb out if they wanted to escape. The remaining wall was the only one that wasn’t stone; it was metal with a small line that ran up the center. Obviously a set of doors, but how they opened was a complete mystery.

“It looks like a subway station, but I’m willing to bet whatever ran through here wasn’t anything we’d recognize. I’m guessing the inscription topside said Vegas to Albuquerque and some sort of tube. That’s a hell of a long way for something to run underground.” Virdon looked around again, wondering what century they had tumbled into the middle of now.

“Yeah, but if the tunnel is intact, you could follow it all the way to Albuquerque. That’s be fantastic, Al. That’d get you under this desert.” _You_. Not _we_. Not _us_.

Galen returned and laid a hand on Burke’s uninjured shoulder. The chimp looked lost.

“Hey, Galen, find anything good?” the younger astronaut asked.

“No. The stairway is blocked and what I can see beyond it doesn’t look any better.” Galen’s voice was subdued. “Pete, I—I’m sorry, I was hoping I’d find something to cut this metal with, at least, so we could—“

“S’okay, Galen,” Burke interrupted him. “I know, I know.” He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them wide in alarm as he grabbed Virdon’s arm. “Urko! Damn, Al, I almost forgot about Urko. He couldn’t have been far behind us. What if he finds this place?”

“Yeah,” Virdon looked sheepish. “I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about that, but I haven’t come up with any ideas yet.”

“I could climb up and keep a lookout,” Galen offered, gesturing toward the tree. He needed to feel like he was doing something useful.

“Doesn’t matter,” Virdon said grimly. “We can’t move Pete. If Urko comes, he comes.”

Burke’s brows knit together. “No, you have to leave!”

“You can’t be serious, Pete. I’m not going to abandon you here.” Virdon turned toward the chimp. “Galen, if you want to go, I’ll understand, but I’m staying here.”

“But if Urko finds you here, Alan, he’ll…” Galen couldn’t finish the thought.

“Al, listen to him.” Burke insisted.  “There’s nothing you can do here, except get yourself captured, or… worse. I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself, especially when it’s not going to make any…difference.” His breathing grew more ragged. “Promise me, Alan Virdon, that you will leave if Urko comes. I don’t want the last thing I see to be you getting yourself killed.”

“Pete—“

He fisted a handful of Virdon’s shirt and pulled him closer with surprising strength. “Promise me!” Burke’s head dropped back, his eyes squeezed tight from the grimace of pain that the exertion cost him.

“Okay, okay,” Virdon snatched Burke’s hand as it dropped limply and pressed it tightly between both of his. “I promise.”

When Virdon raised his face to look at Galen, his eyes were shiny, but the chimp saw something else through the misery—a touch of defiance.

“I’ll be right back, Pete.”

Burke nodded, his eyes still closed.

Virdon drew Galen toward the downed tree, out of the other man’s hearing. “Galen, go keep a lookout. But if the gorillas come, we’re going to hide in that stairwell. You said it was blocked further up. Is there enough room for us to squeeze in?”

Galen blinked, confused. “Well, yes, there’s room. But—“

“I’m not leaving him, Galen. I don’t care what he made me promise.  We’ll hide if the gorillas come, but when they leave, when he’s—“ Virdon’s voice hitched. “I’m not going to leave him for whoever or whatever might come along. I have to make sure he’s taken care of properly.”

“I understand.” Galen knuckled Virdon’s chest. “We’ll take care of it together.” He turned and started climbing through the branches toward the sky.

Virdon turned back to hold vigil over Burke while he could, try to offer some cold comfort. What could he say to his best friend, knowing he had a very limited amount of time left? How should he say goodbye?

Burke’s skin had grown paler, and his breathing more rapid. The blood trailed rivulets down the side of the concrete, thin scarlet lines that dripped slowly into the dirt. Virdon wet the cloth again and wiped down his friend’s face, noting the blueness of his lips. It wouldn’t be long now.

“Pete, I’m sorry,” Virdon began, hoping to ground Burke with the sound of his voice. He cleared his throat, trying to swallow past the constriction he felt. “I’m sorry that we got into this mess—the whole mission. I was in charge. And if I hadn’t dragged you all over the countryside, maybe this never would have happened.”

“S’okay,” Burke muttered, his speech slurred. “Follow you anywhere.”

Alan could feel wetness on his cheeks but pushed on regardless. “You’ve been my best friend, Pete. I’ve been proud to know you and honored to serve with you. If I ever make it back, I’m going to make sure they all know what a hero you are.”

“Jus’ make sure statue shows m’good side, ‘kay?”

 _Oh god, I can’t do this._ “You bet, pal.”

He wasn’t sure how long he sat with his face buried in one hand while holding onto Pete with the other, but he knew what it meant when Galen appeared beside him, agitated and out of breath.

“Alan,” Galen said gently, “horses coming. I’m sorry, Pete.”

Burke opened his eyes, rallying for the moment, and reached over to give the chimp’s hand a quick squeeze. “Thanks for everything, Galen. You’ve been the best.”

“Pete, I can’t—“ Virdon began, misery etched all over his face.

“Yes. Yes, you can, Al. You promised.” Burke’s eyes locked with Virdon’s, and everything unspoken passed between them. “We’re good t'go, you an' me. Now get'm outta here, Galen.” He released Virdon’s hand and laid his arm across his eyes.

Through blurry vision, Galen pulled on Virdon, worried for a moment that he was going to have to overpower the human to get him to move. But after one last look at his best friend and junior officer, Virdon bent to pick up his pack and let Galen lead him away.

 


	2. Turning Tables

_Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own savior  
When the thunder calls for me  
Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own savior  
Standing on my own two feet_

 

Burke opened his eyes when he heard the crack and rustle of tree branches being bent and broken. _Dainty, gorillas ain’t_. Even knowing there was nothing worse Urko could do to him, he felt a familiar panic at the imposing figure of the gorilla general standing over him, pistol drawn. Three other soldiers stood nearby with their rifles ready, shifting nervously from foot to foot. The adrenalin cleared his head a bit and gave him the strength for one final act of defiance.

“Hey, Urko, nice of you to drop by.”

Urko scowled at the wretched human’s insolence. “Burke.” He looked up and down the broken body, taking in the damage. “That looks painful. Good.”

 _The sonofabitch is actually smiling._ “Yeah, love to trade places with you.”

“Where are Galen and Virdon?”

“Long gone. Sent them away.”

The gorilla’s eyes narrowed. “You lie. Virdon would never leave you like this.”

“Use your head, Urko. I’m dying. Virdon’s not going to stick around when there’s nothing he can do to change that.” Burke hoped everything he was telling Urko _was_ true, that Virdon and Galen kept running and didn’t look back.

The gorilla’s lips compressed to a thin line, not sure if he should believe the human. If he was telling the truth, then Urko and his troops should ride on immediately to try to catch the remaining fugitives as they fled. But Urko thought it was more likely that Virdon and the traitorous chimp Galen would hide nearby. He knew how he could flush them out.

“I don’t believe you.” Urko brought his pistol up under Burke’s chin and pulled back the hammer. “Tell me the truth.”

Now it was Burke’s turn to smirk. “Go ahead, you stupid jackass. You’d be doing me a favor.”

At the insult to their commander, Urko’s soldiers grunted and started to move forward. One gesture from the general stilled them. He would make this human pay for his insolence, for the last year that Urko had spent chasing them over the countryside, only to have them slip embarrassingly through his fingers again and again. Urko let down the hammer on his pistol and pulled it away, as much as the image of spattering Burke’s brains appealed to him. Instead, he brought it down to the human’s side and pushed the barrel into the wound there.

Burke’s scream was the first clear thing Virdon was able to hear of the exchange from where he and Galen were concealed. He lunged forward, but Galen wrapped his arms around Virdon and bore him to the ground before he could expose their presence.

“Alan, don’t,” he hissed in Virdon’s ear as the human tried to buck him off. “He’ll kill us both.” With a muffled sob, Alan stopped struggling. His life was his own, but he wouldn’t risk his friend’s. Galen could feel the body beneath him shake with soundless grief.

Urko slapped Burke’s slack face, trying to rouse him again. “I’m not done with you yet, human.”

Burke groaned, his head slowly rolling back and forth. “Yeah, all done,” he finally rasped, eyes still half-closed. He couldn’t get them to open any further. He was so tired, and even the sharp pain from Urko’s prodding was quickly fading. In fact, everything was going pleasantly numb. The whole prospect wasn’t really so scary anymore. He just closed his eyes and let the floating sensation take him.

 

******

Urko watched the human’s chest rise one final time, and with a sigh, Burke was still. The gorilla general was torn between frustration that he couldn’t inflict further torment and elation that the human who he hated more than any other was dead. So focused on extracting his last scrap of revenge from Burke, Urko didn’t notice the humming noise slowly rising all around him. But as the hum quickly increased in volume and frequency, all the gorillas clapped their hands over their ears, trying to shut out the painful noise.

In their hiding place, Virdon watched Galen grab his head with both hands and curl into a protective ball. He was completely perplexed about what was afflicting his friend. Within a few moments, Galen and the gorillas were all unconscious.

Although he couldn’t hear the high-pitched tone that had knocked out all the apes, Virdon did feel a subsonic vibration through the stone under his feet. After a quick look to confirm the gorillas’ incapacitation, he hurried from the stairwell over to Burke’s body. With a hissing and grinding sound, the mystery metal doors began to move slowly apart. The light that split the dimness blinded him even as he raised his hand to shield his eyes. As the doors opened wider, four figures stood in the gap silhouetted against the light. In a moment of surreal juxtaposition, Virdon realized the figures all had wings.

His knees folded when one of the figures strode over to him; his mouth worked, but nothing would come out.

“Alan Virdon. You need to let us help your friend.” The voice was perfectly normal, and the hand that grasped his arm and pulled him aside felt solid and warm. “My name is Ezekiel. We won’t hurt you or your friend.” Despite the thin line of brown beard that shadowed his square jaw and dimpled chin, Ezekiel looked very young. Short-cropped hair stuck out from his head in soft spikes. They were all dressed similarly in clothes made from a soft-looking, flowing fabric. Sleeveless shirts wrapped around their wings and crossed over broad, heavily muscled torsos. The wings, even when folded, trailed down to mid-calf and were covered with feathers that closely matched each man’s hair color. Ezekiel’s were variegated from ash brown to a deep brunette.

The other winged men swarmed forward, carrying equipment that Virdon didn’t recognize and pushing a long tube on wheels similar to a stretcher. They surrounded Burke.

“What…? How…?” The astronaut had too many questions and couldn’t articulate any of them.

“Alan, we are going to help Pete. But we must move quickly. I’ll explain when he’s out of danger.”

Virdon sat down, hard, when the supporting hand let go. He watched in silence as they cut the rebar just above Burke’s wounds with a quick flick of a small cylinder that emitted a brightly glowing blade. _A laser. They have lasers._ His scientific mind analyzed their every movement, even as he tried to process the presence of…

 _Ok, Alan, let’s call them what they are—angels. In an underground cave. Angels. That’s it, I’ve lost it. Pete’s dead, and I’ve gone over the edge. Any second now, Galen is going to slap me across the face to break me out of my hysteria._

They put a mask over Burke’s nose and mouth, which started hissing softly. With the metal no longer pinning him in place, two angels lifted and transferred him to the wheeled pod. Things moved very quickly after that. They cut away the remains of his blood-soaked shirt. A round device the size of the palm of his hand was attached to Burke’s bare chest, where it started blinking rapidly. That was when Alan noticed that his friend’s chest was rising and falling again, but slowly, so slowly.

 _He’s alive! But how?_

One of them sprayed foam into the ragged holes in Pete’s shoulder and side, and then pressed something that looked like a small penlight into the side of his neck. _An injection of some sort?_ Another injection device, assuming that’s what it was, was pressed into his neck a moment later. One of the men stood at the end of the pod by Burke’s head and manipulated a panel of controls.

All this happened without a word exchanged between the four men, like a well-choreographed dance. Finally, when no more than a couple of minutes had passed, Ezekiel nodded to the others and turned back to where Virdon sat on the ground. The other three began gathering together their equipment.

“We need to go now, Alan. The apes will wake soon, and we must be gone before then.” He held out a hand to help Virdon rise. He grasped it and was practically lifted bodily to his feet. Then he saw the other three men wheeling the pod toward the metal doors.

“Pete—“

“Is alive. But not completely out of danger.”

“Where are you taking him?” His voice was becoming alarmed.

“Back to our home. You are welcome to come, too. But it’s your choice.”

“Of course I’ll come. What about Galen?” Virdon turned back toward where he had left his unconscious friend.

“Yes, the chimp.” Ezekiel’s lips pressed into a tight line. “We don’t allow apes in our city.”

“But he’s our friend. Look, if you leave him here, these other apes will kill him when they wake up.”

Ezekiel tilted his head to one side while he considered. “All right. He can come.”

“Fine. He’s over here.” Virdon led the other man to the stairwell. “I have so many questions.”

“I know, it’s a lot to absorb, and for that I’m sorry. We have a long ride ahead of us, and I’ll try to explain as much as I can then.” He lifted the limp chimpanzee effortlessly before Virdon could even try to help.  “But for now, we must hurry.”

 

******

One of the other angels was waiting for them on the other side of the doors. He shook his head and scowled at Ezekiel as he carried Galen through the metal doors.

“Zeke, is this a good idea?” he hissed, as he pushed buttons on a panel.

“It’ll be fine, Gabe. Trust me,” Zeke retorted with a smirk.

Virdon trailed along behind Ezekiel, his mind racing at the sights there. A sleek metal and glass tube, tapered on each end, sat in a track in the ground. The hum that Alan had felt grew stronger, pulsating like a living thing. He turned back to see the metal doors slide together with a soft clang. The pod containing Burke was already loaded into the tube. Quickly, Ezekiel settled Galen into a seat at the other end, out of the way, and Virdon sank down next to him. The chimpanzee was beginning to stir, making small whimpering noises.

When all the passengers were aboard, a door slid into place across the opening and sank into it with a quiet hiss of pressurization. Ezekiel manipulated buttons and dials on a control panel, and the train slowly started accelerating.

Galen moaned, and Virdon reached over to chafe his wrists. “Galen?” he called, trying to rouse the groggy chimp. “Galen, are you all right?”

Galen blinked and pulled himself up straighter in his seat. “Alan?” His eyes focused on Virdon, then grew wide as he scanned the rest of the scene around him. “Where are we? What are they doing to Pete?”

“I think they’re saving him, Galen,” he replied in a low voice.

Quietly, Virdon filled Galen in on what had happened when he’d been unconscious. While the human talked, Galen’s eyes never left Zeke or his companions. Although human myth associated angels with divine origin and purposes, ape legend painted them in an entirely different light. Galen had told his friends about the stories of the Forbidden Zone, of monsters who kidnapped apes and devoured them. What he hadn’t told them was that these fabled creatures were described as terrible humans who stole about on feathered wings. But these same beings had saved his friend’s life. Maybe like so much of what his revered Sacred Scrolls had to say about ape and human history, the truth, the _real_ truth, was lost in the past under layers of elaborate narrative designed to reinforce the superiority of apes over humans.

Galen looked out the glass canopy of the transport. Beyond his own reflection in the darkened glass, he sensed the outside rushing by at incredible speeds, even though he had barely felt the pressure of their acceleration. When Ezekiel gave a final nod to his companions and came to sit adjacent to Virdon, Galen had to stop himself from shrinking back in his seat.

Virdon couldn’t contain himself any longer. “Where are we going, exactly? How do you know our names? How did you know we were in that place?”

The angel held up his hands with a smile, trying to stem the flood of questions. “We are going to our home, a city called Alba. My other companions are Jedediah, Gabriel, Micaiah.” He pointed to each in turn. “When the roof fell in at the station, it set off an alarm in the control center for this transport device. We saw you and the others through far-seeing devices—“

“Cameras?” Virdon interrupted.

Zeke’s brows knit together. “How do you know—“

“We’re not from around here, originally,” Alan explained. “We come from a place that has technology as well. Not as advanced, but this,” he waved his hand to take in everything around him, “is not outside the realm of my imagination.”

Zeke pursed his lips for a moment in thought. “You certainly don’t seem like the humans we are familiar with in the ape-controlled territories. I’ve never heard a human describe an ape as a ‘friend’ before.”

Galen scoffed. “Yes, well, you’ll find that my friends are quite unique among humans. But he tells me that in your city, I am going to be equally unique. Why is that?” Galen paused, tilting his head to one side. “Do you eat apes?”

“What? No!” Zeke squeaked.

“Galen!” Alan barked.

But the chimp pressed on. “Look, it’s not an unreasonable question! _My_ people have legends about creatures, monsters, fitting your description—who _eat_ apes.”

Zeke shook his head. “No, Galen, we don’t eat apes. Look, you seem like a decent person, and I don’t believe you’re going to be any danger to us. But we’ve had… trouble with apes. I’m not sure how our Council of Elders is going to react to my decision to bring you along.” A few feet away, Jedediah snorted. Zeke flashed him a dirty look, then turned back to Virdon and Galen. “Would those other apes really have killed you? I thought apes had laws about killing other apes.”

“Oh, yes, Urko would have killed us both if he had realized we were there,” Galen replied. “Listen, he’s _very_ dangerous. And persistent. Is there any chance he can get into this tunnel and follow us?”

“No, The door only opens from the inside, and it’s meant to withstand quite a lot. That’s one of the reasons these transports are still functioning. Eventually, we’ll send a crew to repair the station, but we have ways of dealing with locals who get too close.”

Galen was still concerned. “Are you sure—“

“Zeke,” Jed called out, “you better come here and take a look at this.”

“One moment,” Zeke murmured and walked over to where Jedediah was frowning over the controls for the pod. Alan’s heart jumped in his chest with fear that something was going wrong with Burke. Zeke examined what Jed pointed to, then growled, “You’re sure?” Jed nodded. “How’s that possible?” When Zeke raised his head, his eyes were narrow and suspicious.

“You haven’t been entirely honest with us, Alan Virdon. You said you aren’t from around here. Where are you from, exactly?” His expression darkened further. “Or perhaps the better question is, from _when_?”

“Wha—“

Jed cut him off. “I did a DNA analysis of Pete’s tissue. It shows that he’s an evolutionary throwback. I’m betting you are, too. Your phylogenetic map hasn’t been seen on this planet in a thousand years. How is that possible?” he echoed Zeke’s question.

Virdon sighed as he held out his hands placatingly. “Look, I didn’t mean to deceive you. Just everything happened so fast. I was going to explain.”

“Okay, so explain. Now.” Zeke crossed his arms, still scowling.

Virdon exchanged a look with Galen, who shrugged. No help there. He took a deep breath. “Okay. Yes, Pete and I come from the past. We crashed here in a spaceship that came from the late twentieth century. We don’t know how we got here, but we’d sure like to find a way to get home.”

“I told you they were unique,” Galen interjected.

“Well, that puts an interesting spin on things, doesn’t it?” Zeke shook his head, then exchanged an enigmatic look with Jed.

A thought occurred to Virdon, and his face lit up. “You have computers.”

“Yes, of course,” was the confused reply.

“I have the flight recorder disk from our spaceship; it was the only thing we could salvage before it was destroyed. We’ve been searching for a computer that can read it. If you can read the data off of it, we can figure out what happened to our ship.” Virdon’s expression was focused, his tone urgent and intent. They might finally have the answers that would be a first step to finding a way home.

“I can’t promise you anything without the approval of our Elders. But I’ll try.”

The pressure in the train shifted subtly, and Virdon felt a stronger tug on him, opposite from when they started out. They were noticeably decelerating.

But Virdon had one more burning question. “Zeke, do you have any historical records? Do you know what the hell happened to the human race?”

Zeke’s expression softened, mixed now with immense sadness. “Yes, we do.”


	3. Taking Chances

_Don't know much about your life.  
Don't know much about your world, but  
Don't want to be alone tonight,  
On this planet they call earth._

 

The station that the train pulled into in Alba was not much different than the one they left in Vega. The boarding area around the track itself was fairly small, barely more than a platform, and closed off by another set of large metal doors. Gabriel operated the controls to the doors, which opened more smoothly and quietly than the ones back in Vega.

A group of two angels and four humans, including two human women, waited on the other side of the doors. Zeke led Virdon and Galen to the group then turned to one of the angels, a tall, wiry male with gray hair and gray feathers on his wings. They each placed a hand over the other’s heart as a greeting.

“We have much to discuss, Ezekiel,”

“You could at least say ‘welcome back’ first, Malachi.” Zeke chided, but with a kindly smile on his face.

“I’m glad for your safe return,” the older man inclined his head. “Get our visitors settled, then come to the Council chamber.” Malachi directed his attention to the others. “Alan Virdon. Galen. I am Malachi, head of the Council of Elders. I’m sure you are weary after your ordeal. We will give you a place to rest, but I must ask you to remain there until summoned by the Council. We will talk at some length, no doubt, once we consult over the events that brought you to us.” Jed and one of the human men pushed Burke’s pod out of the station through a tunnel on the other side of the room.

“What about Pete? Where are you taking him?” Virdon asked anxiously.

“Jed would like them to come to the medical area to be checked for injuries,” Zeke interjected, then turned to Virdon and Galen. “If you agree to be treated, of course. Pete will be nearby.”

“That sounds wise. Ezekiel and Levi will show you the way.” He gestured to one of the humans who stood nearby. Levi was tall, like Virdon, with a similar broad-chested build. He wore the same soft, flowing fabric pants and shirt that wrapped around his torso. His bare arms were solidly muscled, despite the gray hair that dusted his forearms and head. Around one wrist was a button-studded bracelet, as Virdon had seen on every inhabitant of Alba so far. The humans obviously had better living conditions than the fugitives was used to seeing, even among benevolent ape masters.

“This way.” Zeke strode off down the same tunnel the others had exited. Levi stepped forward and gestured to Alan and Galen to proceed. The walls here were made of metal, although in some areas, they were carved into of the surrounding stone. Transparent panels scattered around the walls made the structure feel more open and airy, as did the natural lighting with no discernible source. Virdon watched Galen gawking like a tourist and knew he probably had a similar expression, but he’d never seen anything like this before. But Zeke turned a patient, indulgent smile on his charges when their pace slowed while they took in their surroundings.

Galen gravitated toward Levi. “Levi, can I ask you some questions?” the chimp began.

“Of course.”

“Humans and—the others—“

“The angels,” Levi chuckled when he saw Virdon blanche a little. “Don’t worry, they aren’t _really_ angels, not in the divine sense. But that’s what they’ve always been called.”

“Hmm. Humans and angels live here together? Are you their servants? The angels look to be in charge.”

“We live in harmony. There are no masters and servants here, like there are outside in the ape world. The head of the Council has always been an angel, although humans also sit on the Council.”

“Women as well as men?” Virdon interjected.

“Oh yes. We are all equals here.”

“But no apes.” Disappointment tinged Galen’s voice.

“No, no apes.”

Zeke stopped in front of an elevator. “I’m sorry, we’ll have to take the lift up to the medical area. As Mal said, you’ll be near where Pete is being cared for.”

The door to the elevator slid open, and Virdon gasped, even as Galen grabbed his arm. The interior of the elevator car was a cylinder made mostly of glass, allowing them a panoramic view of the heart of Alba.

The chasm they looked out on was at least two hundred feet across, and Alan couldn’t see how high it extended above him. It also dropped away below them into shadows. Light filtered into the shaft from everywhere, so while not brightly lit like the corridors they had walked through, it wasn’t gloomy either. And all around the perimeter of the shaft were tunnel openings and wide flat platforms—landing areas. A myriad of angels flew up and down the shaft, some of them carrying objects or even people, traveling from floor to floor and tunnel to tunnel.

The door to the elevator hissed closed, and they began to ascend. Virdon experienced a momentary sensation of flying as they glided rapidly up the wall of the cavern. Galen pressed his face to the glass then nervously took a step back.

“Welcome to Alba. Do you like it, Galen?” Zeke asked as Galen realized his mouth was hanging open and closed it with a click.

“Oh, yes, it’s amazing.” But Galen’s voice was flat and quiet.

“And the entire city is underground?” Virdon asked.

“Yes. The desert above us is pretty much uninhabitable. Being underground affords us protection from… the elements.”

The lift slowed to a stop and opened into a corridor. They traversed a couple of turns through similar looking corridors then stopped in front of another door. Zeke tapped a control pad on the wall, and the portal slid open. He motioned for Virdon and Galen to enter. Levi took up a position next to the door in the corridor.

The examination room didn’t look much different than a hospital room from Virdon’s time. Two beds, a small table with chairs, an array of unfamiliar equipment, and a doorway that led to a bathroom with a real shower and other amenities that Virdon had never thought he’d see again, at least, not in _this_ time. Zeke explained simple instructions to operate each one then turned to leave.

“I’m sure you’ll want to refresh yourself. Jed will be here shortly. Is it all right if he examines you?”

Virdon nodded, “Yeah, it’d be nice to have a physical by someone who didn’t consider themselves a vet.”

Galen snorted in derision. “Kira is _not_ a vet. She is a _brilliant_ surgeon,” he added in a huff.

“Well, if you need anything in the meantime, just knock on the door. Levi will be waiting outside.”

Virdon frowned. “A guard?”

Zeke shook his head and spread his hands placatingly. “An escort. You are not a prisoner here, but we must take certain precautions—for your safety as well—until the Council allows you to go about the city freely.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. What you’ve done for us, for Pete, is beyond kindness. Thank you.”

Zeke inclined his head and smiled. “I have to go now. It’s almost evening, but I’ll return before it’s time to sleep, to check on you and let you know how things progress in Council.”

Galen barely waited until the door was fully closed behind Zeke before he hissed, “Alan, I really don’t like this place.”

“I don’t understand what’s gotten into you!” Virdon snapped. “Zeke and the others haven’t done anything to make us distrust them. They saved Pete’s life, for heaven’s sake. Isn’t that enough to convince you of their good intentions?”

“But the legend says—“

“Galen, how many other ape legends have we found reasonable explanations for? Maybe you can at least give it a chance that this one is wrong, too?” Virdon was trying not to let his frustration seep into his tone, but he finally had a chance, a real chance, of discovering what had happened to his ship. And Galen’s provincial superstitions, probably borne out of propaganda to demonize humans in the eyes of apes, weren’t going to threaten it.

“Look, I understand that this is all very strange to you. Believe me, it’s strange to me, too. Compared to what the apes have—“

“This is not about all their fancy gadgets!” Galen interrupted. “I’m not some country bumpkin who thinks that anything I can’t explain with rational science is magic! These people are hiding something. Haven’t you always said to ‘trust your gut’? Well, as disgusting as that sounds, _my_ gut is telling me that something isn’t right here.”

Virdon took a deep breath. This was going nowhere fast. “Okay, Galen. I understand your concerns, and we’ll keep an eye out for anything unusual. But for now, they haven’t done anything to make me distrust them,” He raked his hands through his hair and tried a different tact. “Look, I’m going to go take a long, hot shower. If it’s long and hot enough, I might even find some skin under all this grime and sweat.”

 

******

Malachi studied Ezekiel over his steepled fingers as the younger angel finished giving his report about what had happened at Vega, including the revelation about the astronauts’ true origin. Mal’s face was inscrutable, and as Zeke stood waiting for the elder to speak, he resisted the urge to fidget, stilling wings that threatened to flutter with nervous tension. The other eight Council members deferred to their leader before voicing their many questions and opinions.

 _I swear they practice that unreadable expression in front of a mirror. It’s a requirement for elevation to the Council,_ Zeke thought, while trying to find something to look at besides his own feet. He always felt a little like a child in trouble when he had to speak before the Council.

Malachi shifted forward in his chair and placed his palms flat on the table. “Ezekiel, your report is, as always, a complete and accurate portrayal of the facts. But I’d like to hear your _impressions_ of our newest guests.”

Zeke blinked, taken aback by the question. Malachi had never asked for his opinion before. He rubbed his chin while he organized his thoughts. “Well, Alan Virdon seems honest and highly intelligent. His distress over Pete Burke’s mortal injury derives from a deep sense of friendship and duty, which also explains his insistence that we bring Galen with us. There is more to his situation that he hasn’t shared with us yet, but not out of deceit or malice. Something causes him a deeper sadness beyond what happened to Pete. He is not a danger to us, although I think we may be able to provide him with a great deal of assistance in understanding what happened to his ship.”

“My only contact with Galen was while he was unconscious. But he emanates an innocence and purity that I have never experienced with another ape. I don’t believe he is any sort of threat to us; he is deeply loyal to his human friends. And despite a burning curiosity, he seems very uncomfortable with his current surroundings. He may prove useful to us for understanding what went wrong with those species, if we can allay his fears and get him to open up to us.”

He paused, considering what else to add. “Obviously, Pete Burke was severely compromised when we arrived, so I haven’t been able to read any conscious feelings. But I was able to get flashes of images. Quicksilver. Fire… no, lightning. And… flying.” Zeke shrugged, unable to think of anything else. “I couldn’t tell more with the state he was in when we found him.”

The corners of Malachi’s mouth quirked upward, the closest he would come to a smile or expression of pride in the Council chamber. “Thank you, Ezekiel. I would like to propose to the rest of the Council that you be reassigned from your duties, for the time being, to serve as liaison to these visitors. You’re familiar to them, and Alan, at least, seems ready to trust you.” Malachi looked around the table for nods of assent from the other Council members, then turned back to Zeke. “Will you agree to this duty?”

“While I bow to the wisdom of the Council, if that is their wish, I’m uncertain that I am best qualified. I think Galen would be more comfortable with one of the humans instead?” Zeke offered.

“No, I think you will do just fine. Jedediah should accompany you to deal with any matters that require a healer. There will be plenty of opportunities for them to interact with our brothers and sisters later.”

“As the Council wishes.”

“After the sleep period, the Council will speak to Alan and Galen. See if Galen will consent to you doing a deeper reading. We need to know if it is safe to allow him to remain in the city. Afterward, the Council will render a decision as soon as possible. Now, I believe you told Alan and Galen that someone would stop by after the Council meeting. We still have more to discuss, but you may go do that now. Thank you, Ezekiel.”

Zeke bowed his head in respect to the Elders then turned to leave the Council chamber, his mind churning over the new responsibility he’d been given even as he rankled somewhat at the curt dismissal. As soon as the doors swung closed, he blew out a whoosh of breath and raked both hands through his hair. Obviously, Malachi wanted him to take more interest in Council business. He had to admit, his curiosity over these humans from the past was just the thing to draw him under the Council’s wing. He hoped he would prove worthy to the task.

He consulted the central computer through his bracelet link and found where Burke was being treated. He had to go right by the medical area where Jed would be tending Burke, so he decided to stop there first to tell his best friend about this new assignment.

A quick walk from the Council chamber led him to the central shaft that connected all areas of the city. He launched himself from the platform and glided down several dozen floors to the level he wanted. It was getting late, and the traffic in the shaft dropped as the city settled in for the night. While there was no true night or day this far underground, the artificial sunlight changed on a diurnal cycle to simulate what was happening in the world above them. Except for critical duties that required round-the-clock attention, most of the inhabitants followed the same cycle.

He touched down on the landing pad closest to the medical area and quickly wound his way through the passages. He ducked through the main medical bay, a large room with several beds that allowed healers to treat patients with minor injuries, to the private room where a patient in such critical condition as Burke would be treated.

The door opened at the touch of his hand on the controls. The pod that had housed the human since the station at Vega was pushed below a large monitoring panel. Jed and two human healers moved purposefully around the room, setting up equipment and assessing Burke’s condition.

Jed looked up from the panel when the door opened and nodded to Zeke, who walked over to the pod’s bedside and looked down at the still, pale human.

“How’s he doing?” Zeke asked.

“About as well as we can expect. He’s still on the respirator and cardiac stimulator, but gaining ground. What did the Council say?”

“You’re looking at their liaison to the visitors.” His voice dripped annoyance.

“Wow, the old man is really trying to rope you in, isn’t he?” Jed chuckled.

“Well, Mal’s ancestors have sat on the Council for generations beyond reckoning. My _eema_ is not about to let me escape the same fate, is he?”

“But why did they say they picked you? Other than being Mal’s offspring?”

“Because I’ve read them all—although how the old bird knew that is beyond me,” Zeke’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “And Mal thinks I’ve already developed a rapport with Alan, that he’s more likely to trust me.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

Zeke scoffed. “Like I have a choice. But I have to admit, their story has piqued my curiosity. It’ll definitely be interesting spending time with them.” He gave his friend a sly, sideways look. “Oh, and you get to be my partner in this, by the way. You are now the visitors’ chief healer.”

“Well, that’s not really a surprise,” Jed smirked, puffing out his chest in mock pride. “I did bring this one back from the dead, after all.”

“Yeah, you’re a regular miracle worker. How are Alan and Galen? Did you examine them?”

“They both have an impressive collection of contusions and abrasions from the fall. Galen injured his shoulder. Alan has a borderline concussion and is mildly malnourished. I gave them some vitamin shots. And I took some blood and tissue from both of them so we can do full genetic workups. I recommended that they both stay in the medical area tonight for observation. They can move to regular quarters tomorrow.”

Zeke nodded. “The Council wants to interview them in the morning. They want me to do a deep read on Galen.”

Jed grunted in disgust. “Is that even safe? Have you ever done a deep read on an ape before?”

“No,” Zeke sighed. “Which is why I want you there to monitor everything.” Jed nodded. “I have to go check on them, then I’m turning in for the night.”

“Sure. Just signal me in the morning when you need me.” He put his hand on Zeke’s chest over his heart. “Have a good rest, _ahuvi_.”

Zeke returned the gesture. “I would say the same, but I have a feeling you aren’t going to get much sleep tonight.”

 

******

When he got to Virdon and Galen’s room, he nodded to the angel who had replaced Levi outside and pushed the button that chimed the door. When the door slid open, Virdon waited right inside, clearly anxious. Galen sat at the table, picking at the remains of a meal.

“Zeke, what did the Council have to say?” The human, despite the fact that he had been pacing, looked refreshed; his blond hair was tousled and damp from a shower, and his face was closely shaved. He was dressed in the soft, loose Alban clothing, a welcome change from the rough, scratchy homespun he’d worn continuously for the last year. He worried at a fingernail with his teeth.

“They would like to interview you both tomorrow.”

“Fine,” he waved a hand dismissively. “How’s Pete?”

“I just left him. Jed says he is slowly improving and doing as well as can be expected at this point.” He put a reassuring hand on Virdon’s arm to steer him gently toward where Galen was sitting. The touch seemed to calm him. “The interview will be first thing in the morning. If it goes as I expect it to, you should be able to see him afterward.”

Zeke’s smile faded, and he cleared his throat. “Galen, I need to ask your permission for something. I have the ability to sense the feelings and thoughts of other beings. Usually, I get surface feelings from just touching someone, but I _can_ read deeper emotions, _if_ the subject is cooperative. The Elders would like me to do this deeper reading on you tomorrow, as further proof of your intentions.”

Virdon frowned as a flush started rising on his face. “Wait a minute. You want to read Galen’s mind? So you’re telepathic?”

“No, no, it’s not telepathy. Mostly I can sense emotions. In a deeply meditative state, sometimes I can catch memories. Think of it more like _empathy_. Believe me, I don’t do this often. It’s incredibly draining for me, both physically and emotionally.”

Galen made a small noise and tilted his head to one side. “Will it hurt?”

“No,” Zeke reassured him. “You might feel a bit strange, a sense of someone else being in your head with you. But as long as you relax and stay calm, I’m told it’s rather like experiencing a vivid memory.”

“Can I be there with him?” Virdon asked.

“Of course. Jed will be there, too, as a healer to monitor Galen and make sure he doesn’t get distressed.” He turned back to the chimp. “Think about it, Galen. I’m not going to do anything without your permission. But it would go a long way toward reassuring the Council.”

“All—all right,” Galen agreed, his nose twitching nervously.

Zeke nodded. “Well, it’s late, and we should all try to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be busy.” He stood and headed for the door. “Sleep well.”

 

******

Alan was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. It seemed unreal that just that morning they had woken up on the edge of the Forbidden Zone, and now they were deep in the heart of it, in what Virdon assumed was Albuquerque, New Mexico. Between his exhaustion from the long day and the unfamiliar comfort of being in a real bed, he quickly slipped into slumber. But it wasn’t peaceful.

The dream started out pleasantly enough, a bittersweet memory of a day at the beach with his family shortly before he had left on his last, fateful mission. A three-day weekend for the Fourth of July. Sally had insisted on inviting Major Burke along when his weekend plans had fallen through. Which in common parlance meant that the woman Pete had picked up the night before hadn’t been interesting enough to hold his attention through the weekend.

He and Chris were building an epic sand castle while Sally stretched out on a blanket in the sand, her well-lotioned back tanning in the sun. Pete was off somewhere in the waves, body surfing. He said it was going to be a long time before he got to go swimming again, so he wanted to get as waterlogged as possible.

“Dad, doesn’t the castle need a moat? Why do castles have moats, anyway?” Chris asked in that staccato way that ten-year-olds have of firing off questions.

“The moat helps defend the castle. Attackers have to figure out how to cross the moat to get to the walls,” Alan explained patiently.

“Cool! Then we definitely need to put in a moat.”

“Well, you start digging a trench around the castle, and I’ll go get some water to fill it, okay?” Alan picked up a plastic bucket and jogged down the beach toward the surf. He lifted a hand to wave to Pete, who was splashing around in the breaking waves.

When he returned to the castle, Sally was kneeling up on the edge of the blanket, brushing at Chris’s back and legs.

“He’s covered with sand, Alan. What have you two been doing, rolling in it?” She flashed him a brilliant smile, and his heart lurched as the realization that he was dreaming sliced through the pleasant illusion. “Well, don’t just stand there looking like Burt Lancaster. Come help me clean him off.”

“Here, we’ll just wash it off.” Except when the looked down at the bucket of water he had just fetched, it was full of sand. _That’s strange_ , he though, _I just filled that—_. He glanced back at the ocean, where he had just been. But all that he saw was an endless stretch of more sand. No water, no waves, no beach. It was a desert. They were in the middle of a desert.

“Alan!” Sally’s exclamation startled him, and his head snapped back in her direction. Sally and Chris were both covered with sand from head to toe, and they were mewling in distress.

“Okay, okay, it’s just a little sand.” He knelt next to his wife and son and started trying to brush the sand away from their skin. Except beneath the sand was only more sand. As he brushed, they both started to dissolve, and the sand swirled into miniature dust devils driven by a sudden wind.

“No!” Alan scrabbled at the sand, trying to hold onto handfuls of it, trying to hold onto his wife and son, but the grains just spilled through his fingers.

“They’re gone, Alan. Gone and turned to dust a thousand years ago,” Burke’s voice called to him. Alan looked around and saw Pete standing a few yards away, where the desert turned to scrub and forest beyond that. His shirt was soaked with blood in two big patches. As Alan watched, he turned and walked into the forest.

“Pete—“ Alan reached out a hand. “Pete, wait!”

“Can’t wait, Al. Gotta go.” The voice echoed in his ear, even though Burke didn’t turn or look back.

“Wait!” Alan struggled through the sand that sucked at his feet. “Don’t leave, Pete!” He tried to run but just churned the dry sand beneath him. When he finally reached firmer ground, Burke was already disappearing into the trees, walking at a steady, even pace. No matter how fast Alan ran, he couldn’t catch Pete. Couldn’t stop from being left behind. Somehow he knew that if he lost sight of Pete, his friend would be gone forever to a place where Alan couldn’t follow. He called over and over for Burke to wait for him, but he just kept walking—

Virdon woke with Pete’s name on his lips as he sat bolt upright in bed, his heart pounding and breath coming in harsh gasps.

“Lights,” a familiar voice called out, and the room flared into bright relief. Galen slid onto Virdon’s bed and took a firm hold on both his arms. “Alan, you were having a nightmare.”

“Yeah,” he drew in a shuddering breath.

“About Pete?”

“Yeah. Among other things.” He scrubbed a hand across his face, brushing the stinging wetness from his eyes. “He was leaving without me. I tried to catch him, but he wouldn’t wait—he wouldn’t wait for me.”

“Oh, Alan,” he knuckled Virdon in the chest. “Pete’s going to recover. He’s not going anywhere without either of us.” A faint smile ghosted across his face. “We’re in this together, the three of us.” He sighed, then tentatively asked, “What were the ‘other things’? Your family?”

“Yeah.” He took another deep breath and tried to pull himself together. “This place—these people—may be my best chance to find out how I can get back to them, Galen. If I can.”

“All right. All right. I’ll do what I can to see you get that chance, my friend. Whatever it takes.”


	4. The Change

_One hand reaches out and pulls a lost soul from harm  
While a thousand more go unspoken for  
They say what good have you done by saving just this one  
It's like whispering a prayer in the fury of a storm_

 

When Zeke came to fetch them in the morning, Virdon was pacing again. The dark smudges under his eyes told of lost sleep and worry. Galen stretched out on one of the beds, although he sat up when the door opened.

“Are you ill, Alan?” Zeke asked, concerned. “You look like hell. Should I call Jed?”

“No, I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well.” Virdon waved his hand as if brushing the topic aside. “How’s Pete doing? Can I see him soon?”

“He’s about the same. Slowly improving. I’ll take you to him as soon as we are done with the Council. Have you eaten this morning?”

“No, he did not,” Galen interrupted with a roll of his eyes. “I tried to get him to eat, but he can be quite… stubborn.”

“Look, can we just get this over with?”

“All right. Just follow me.”

Levi waited outside and fell in step as Zeke led the way back to the lift. They ascended for several minutes before stopping. This level of the city was more populated, and a number of human and angel residents stopped to stare but otherwise gave a wide berth to the group. The doors to the Council chamber were unlike any other doors they had seen in the city. Instead of metal portals that slid into the wall, these were real wooden doors, dark and heavy, with wrought iron handles. Carved into each door was a triquetra, a three-pointed knotwork form, inscribed within an inverted triangle.

Zeke pulled on the doors, and they swung open smoothly and soundlessly. The room inside was spacious. At a large curved table sat Malachi, surrounded by other angels and humans. Virdon took a quick tally—two other angels in addition to Malachi, plus six humans, half of them women. The only common theme was the predominance of gray hair. But none of them looked frail, even the two humans that Virdon guessed were octogenarians. Council of Elders, indeed.

Lining the walls on either side of the doors were chairs, where Zeke indicated they should sit. Before the curved table, Jed turned back to the Council, his ginger-colored wings shifting as his shoulders bunched with tension.

“Your assessment and…concerns are noted, Jedediah,” Malachi pronounced, an obvious dismissal. “Thank you,” he added more kindly.

Jed inclined his head to the Elders then strode over and threw himself into the chair next to Zeke. The Council members murmured among themselves.

“What was _that_ about?” Zeke whispered.

Before Jed could respond, Mal’s deep baritone called out. “Ezekiel. Have some chairs brought close for our visitors, so they can be comfortable while we talk.”

Zeke unfolded himself from the chair and carried it forward, while Jed brought another. Levi motioned for Virdon and Galen to go forward and sit. When Zeke and Jed returned with another pair of chairs to flank them, Malachi pursed his lips but didn’t object.

“Very well. Let’s begin with introductions.” He named each of the Council members in turn. “Alan Virdon. Galen. We’ve heard the report from Ezekiel about the circumstances of what occurred in Vega and from Jedediah as to the extent of your and Pete Burke’s injuries. But we would like to hear in your own words the tale of your journey to this time, to this place, and your claim that you come from this planet’s past.”

Virdon spent the next hours relating the details of the failed mission of the _Hyperion_ , to travel to Alpha Centauri and back. When his narrative reached the part where they woke up in the bomb shelter outside the village Chalo, their first encounter with Farrow, and subsequent capture by apes, Galen filled in what he could. Together, they recounted some of the tales of their adventures of the last year, including their journey eastward from Central City, in hopes of reaching Houston.

“We haven’t seen any signs of advanced human civilization since the information vault in Oakland. Houston is as likely a place as any to have another cache of technology. And we were hoping that travelling east would take us beyond the reach of Urko and Zaius. We had no idea this place even existed.”

“And now that you do know it exists? What are your intentions?” Malachi asked, leaning forward with interest.

“Well, Ezekiel says you have computers. I was hoping they could read the flight recorder disk from our ship. If we can analyze what happened, maybe we can find a way back home.”

“And if not? If the disk can’t be read, or it doesn’t give you the information you need?”

“Well,” Virdon paused, glancing over at Galen. But he had been calling the shots for the last year, directing where they go. “Then I guess we continue on our way, try to get to Houston.”

Malachi rubbed his chin in thought. “You wouldn’t be interested in staying here? Settling down?”

“No,” Virdon replied, a little harshly. He took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “Look, Malachi, it’s very tempting, but I—we can’t give up searching for a way home.”

“Why?”

Virdon closed his eyes for a moment, the memory of last night’s dream an ache in his chest. “I have a family. A wife and son. I can’t stop trying to get back to them.”

The chamber was still and quiet for a moment.

When Malachi broke the silence, his voice was soft. “And what about Pete, does he also have a family in the past?”

Virdon smirked. Burke, ever pragmatic, had been ready to settle in their new home almost as soon as they awoke in that bomb shelter. Even more so when Farrow showed them the old book, and they realized that they were already on Earth. Only Burke’s sense of duty and loyalty to Virdon kept him on their quest. And Virdon knew it.

“No, he doesn’t.”

“And what about Galen? If you found a way to return to the past, to your home, would Galen go with you?”

“I’d like to,” Galen spoke up before Virdon could answer. “I’d like to see the wonders that they’ve told me about. But I don’t know if I’d have the courage to leave _my_ home, to go to a place where I was the only one of my kind.” He cocked an eyebrow. “I suppose when the time comes, I may have to make a choice, but I honestly can’t say right now what that choice would be.”

Several of the other Elders leaned over to murmur to Malachi. As he listened, his eyes widened with alarm. He sat back a moment to think, his fingers steepled under his chin.

“Have you considered,” he spoke slowly, measuring his words carefully, “that if Galen _were_ to travel to the past, that it could change the course of history for the entire planet? Or that he may have already done so and been responsible for setting humanity on the path that led to their downfall? Or that if you avert that downfall, all of this,”—he waved his hand to encompass not just Alba, but the entire planet—”could cease to exist?”

Galen’s jaw dropped, making it obvious that _he_ hadn’t considered any such thing. However, before he could protest, Virdon replied. “Yes, I have. I’ve considered the paradoxes we could create, even just by Pete and I returning to the past with knowledge of the future. But we didn’t _ask_ to be here, we just want to go home.”

Malachi pursed his lips and nodded. Then he turned his attention to Galen, who closed his gaping mouth with a snap. “Galen. Ezekiel told you what we would like him to do.”

“Yes, he explained.”

“And do you agree?” Malachi’s gaze was strong and steady.

Galen spread his hands in front of him and shrugged. “If it will reassure you that I mean no harm to anyone, then yes, I agree.”

 Malachi nodded to Zeke, who walked over and knelt down in front of Galen.

“Galen, I need you to tell me directly, with full knowledge of what I’m asking and of your own free will. Do you give permission for me to do this?”

“Yes.” His nose wriggled nervously. “What should I do?”

Zeke rose and moved behind Galen. “Just lean back,” he said, pulling gently on Galen’s shoulders, “and relax. Closing your eyes will probably help.” He looked over at Jed, who scooted his chair closer. “Ready?” Jed nodded, resting a light touch on each of their arms.

Zeke placed his hands on either side of Galen’s temple and began to lightly stroke his fur. “Just relax,” he crooned, closing his own eyes. After a moment, his cupped hands settled on over Galen’s temples, and he tentatively reached out with his mind to brush the chimp’s thoughts.

Entering another mind was, even under the best circumstances, a little like diving into an icy pool of water on a hot day. Not necessarily unpleasant, once past the initial shock. The orderly minds of angels were the easiest. Humans were a little more chaotic; their emotions ran stronger and even a feather touch was like stepping into a river that was not only cold but swept by a fast current. However, going into the mind of an ape was a bit like wading into the crashing surf of an ocean whipped up by a hurricane.

Zeke wasn’t expecting such turmoil, such a feeling of alien _strangeness_ , and almost broke the link as soon as it was established. He took a steadying breath and tried to project a calming aura over them both. Galen gasped at the initial contact but then settled down under Zeke’s hands.

After a moment to adjust to the tumultuous rush, he reached for the most recent memories and feelings, which would be strongest and closest to the surface. There. Fear, for both himself and his friends. Rage, as an image of a gorilla face wavered into view. Despair, anger, immense grief, all wrapped up together and washed with a film of bright red blood. Pete!

He pushed past that, skimming over months of experiences, trying to get an overall sense of the soul that occupied this simian body. Despite the abundance of fear and low simmering anger at the injustice of his world, bright points shone like stars in the darkest sky. Laughter, mischief, awe and wonder, an overarching sense of affection tied to images of Virdon and Burke.

Snippets of memories.

 _An older ape, Galen’s father, “Do you think you can change the whole world?" Galen’s weary reply, "I’d like to."_

 _Galen’s mother, “Son, you insist on attempting this impossible rescue?” And his answer, “Mother, we have to. He’s my friend.”_

 _A female ape: “Why should I care if a human dies?” Galen: “If for no other reason, because­ I care—a very great deal.”_

 _“I had a terrible accident. I collided with the truth: that apes and humans were meant to be equals, not masters and slaves.”_

 _“They are my brothers now.”_

 _“Maybe the world would be better if no creature controlled another, if all worked together as equals.”_

 _“Why should truth be against the law?”_

Friends. Equals. Brothers.

A search for truth, even if it meant losing his home, his position, his old friends… or his life. A belief that finding that truth could, would change the whole world. A burning hope that the world would be ready.

Zeke opened his eyes slowly and raised his chin to meet Malachi’s questioning gaze. His hands shook as they slid from Galen’s temples to rest on his shoulders. He bent down slightly and murmured in Galen’s ear, “I’m sorry, Galen. I didn’t know apes could feel that way. Thank you for showing me.”

 

******

As soon as the door opened, Virdon rushed over to Burke’s side. The younger man was incredibly pale, but his skin no longer had the waxy pallor of death. The device still blinked on his chest, which rose and fell with mechanical regularity as the respirator pushed air in and out of his lungs. A pulsating film covered his left shoulder and right flank, wrapping around to disappear beneath him. All traces of the blood that had soaked his old clothes and smeared the pale skin were gone, and he was dressed in pants that matched Alan’s.

A female human was adjusting a bracelet around Burke’s wrist; tubing snaked from it up to a bag of red fluid hanging above the bed.

“Miriam, this is Alan Virdon and Galen,” Jed introduced his assistant.

Virdon nodded to Miriam, but his attention was riveted on Burke. “How is he?”

“Well, I’ll be honest with you, Alan. He’s in rough shape. The respirator and cardiac stimulator are still supporting his vital functions. He’s been injected with nanites—“

“Nanites?”

“Microscopic robots. They are repairing his original wounds, but they also have to repair all the damage to his organs from the lack of blood and oxygen. His kidneys and liver are not functioning right now, so the nanites are cleaning his blood of toxins. And then there’s his brain—“

Virdon’s head snapped up. “He has brain damage?”

“Yes, but,” he added hastily, “the nanites should be able to repair most of it. Still, there may be deficits—memories, skills. He may need to relearn a few things.”

“But he won’t be a… vegetable, will he? He’ll still be…him?”

“His higher functions are intact. That means intellect, personality, speech should all return. Just don’t expect too much too soon, okay?”

Galen, standing behind Virdon, was trying to understand everything Jed was saying. Virdon and Burke had explained what they meant by a person being a “vegetable” when they found out about the surgeries that apes sometimes performed on the brains of humans. Galen shuddered at the memory of how close Burke had come to experiencing that surgery first hand. He put his hand on Alan’s shoulder. “He’s _alive_ , Alan. The rest we’ll take a step at a time.”

“How long until he wakes up?” Virdon asked.

“He could regain consciousness as soon as tomorrow. But we may decide it’s better to keep him sedated, to let his body and mind heal faster. Of course, once he _is_ awake, we’ll have a better idea of how much more healing he needs.”

“Can I stay here with him?”

“I would advise against it while he’s still unconscious.” Jed held up a hand to stop Virdon’s objections. “Look, Alan, you need rest. You’re about ready to fall over, and I’m about ready to sedate you and strap you to a bed. Zeke has regular quarters for you both nearby. You’ll be notified of any changes. Believe me, Pete will need you more once he’s awake. He’s still got a long road ahead of him.”

 

******

The quarters that Zeke led them to were spacious by the standards of what humans were afforded by apes, but obviously designed for efficiency. A small sitting area with several comfortable-looking pieces of furniture was adjacent to a dining area with a round table that could easily accommodate four. A doorway off the main living area led to a bedroom and bathroom. Near the table, a hatch about the size of a dumbwaiter was set into the wall with a control panel above it. Zeke led the way over to it.

“This servitor will generate any basic items you need—food, drink, clothing. Just press the button, give a verbal description, and the computer will produce it if it can. If not, it will tell you. It also has a list of pre-programmed items you can choose from with the touch screen. Let me show you.” He pushed one of the buttons and said in a clear voice, “Mango juice, half-liter, cold, in two glasses.” After a moment, the device beeped, and Zeke pushed up on the handle to open the hatch. Inside were two glasses filled with pale orange liquid, which Zeke retrieved and handed to Virdon and Galen. The chimp sipped it and was pleasantly surprised as the cool sweetness soothed a thirst he didn’t realize he had. “When you are done, just put the glass back in and close the door. The servitor will recycle it.”

Since the morning was gone, Zeke ordered some lunch and ate with them. Galen turned his nose up only a little at the meat on the other plates even though Zeke explained that it hadn’t _really_ come from an animal. But the chimp had grown accustomed over the last year to watching his human friends eat meat when they could get it.

The conversation during the meal was mostly one-sided, with Zeke talking about the city. He promised to get some historical documents for Virdon on one of the electronic pads that they used for reading and writing. When Galen asked for similar reading material, Zeke looked dubious for a moment, but agreed that Galen might as well learn a version of history that wasn’t carefully crafted by apes.

Virdon wasn’t sure how to broach the subject of the flight recorder disk again. He knew that the Council had reservations about helping them retrieve the information on it, but working toward that goal would give him a distraction from worrying about Burke.

Finally, he decided to just plunge in with the direct approach. “Zeke, about the flight recorder disk from our ship. Do you think your computers can access the data on it?”

“I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask,” Zeke teased. He brushed his hands carefully on a napkin. “Honestly, I don’t know. Probably, but we may need to cobble together a special interface to read something that old. Well, old to us—you know what I mean.” He sighed. “Do you have it here? Can I see it?”

Virdon hesitated for a moment before reaching into his shirt and pulling out a small leather pouch suspended by a thong. He removed it from around his neck and opened the drawstring, then dumped the small silver disk into his trembling hand. He took a deep breath, closing his hand around the precious object for a moment before he extended it to Zeke.

“It’s our only connection to home; the only hope we have of getting back,” Virdon explained in a whisper.

“I know.” Zeke gently plucked it from Virdon’s hand between his thumb and forefinger, like he was picking up a delicate artifact. He brought it close to his face and turned it over and back. “Well, any information you can give us about the device that recorded it would certainly be helpful. Gabe is our best computer expert. I’ll take you to his workshop tomorrow.” He held it out and dropped it into Virdon’s palm. “I imagine you’ll want to hold onto it for now.”

“Thanks.” Virdon tucked it back away for safe keeping. He took another bite of food, trying to decide how to ask his next question. “Zeke, I—well, I’m not sure quite how to put this….”

“Just go ahead, Alan. You can ask me anything.”

“We’ve seen a lot of the people who live in this city now. The Elders, for instance. We saw human males, human females, but the only angels we’ve seen are male.”

“Ah.” Zeke nodded knowingly. “Actually, my species only has one gender. We are hermaphrodites.”

Virdon choked on his food, coughing into his fist to cover it.

“Hermaphro-dites?” Galen asked, mangling the word only a little bit.

Zeke repeated the word more slowly. “It means we actually have both male and female parts, Galen.” He could feel a slight heat rising in his face and tried to remember that it was just biology. “Even though all angels look male on the outside, we actually have, well, a womb would be the best description.”

“Fascinating,” Galen leaned forward with interest. He opened his mouth, about to ask more questions, but closed it when Virdon gave him a quelling look.

“Our biology is… complicated. I’ll put some files on about my species on your pad for you to read.” Zeke pushed himself away from the table. “Well, I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one day. I’m wiped out, and I know you both must be, too. I want you both to get some rest. I’ll come back for the evening meal, if that’s all right with you.”

 

******

Virdon finally surrendered to Galen’s insistence that he go in the bedroom and rest, but it took a threat to call Jed if he didn’t. Galen settled down in one of the comfortable chairs with the pad Zeke had left him. After a few moments of getting used to the touch screen, he found the historical text that had been loaded on it.

Luckily, there was an index, since the time span that the history covered was almost incomprehensible to him. While he determined that he would at some point go back and read the sections starting with _The Dawn of Civilization_ up to _Manned Space Exploration_ , the only reference point he had in human history was the year 1980, which Burke and Virdon often mentioned. So he started there.

 

 _During the second half of the twentieth century, mankind’s quest for space reached fruition. The Space Race was fueled by political tension between the United States and first Germany and later the U.S.S.R. After the defeat of Germany in World War II, the defection of several key German scientists to the U.S. gave them an edge, which resulted in the first manned landing on the Moon._

Galen skimmed over the next part, mostly because it talked about a _Cold War_ , which he didn’t understand. The general idea he got was that this United States sent a lot of people to the Moon, but that the human desire to push their boundaries led them to reach further into the space.

 _After launching several unmanned probes to travel to other solar systems, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) began sending manned missions to other stars. However, the mysterious loss of several of those ships, combined with political pressure to alleviate overpopulation, drew the era of extrasolar exploration to a close. Instead, an international cooperative effort resulted in the establishment of colonies on the Moon in 1987 and on Mars in 1999._

Well, there were a bunch of words he didn’t understand. He’d have to ask Alan about it later. He went back to the index and skimmed forward to another section that looked intriguing.

 _The Zeta plague of 2525 was fatal to approximately a third of the worldwide population and brought the canine population to the brink of extinction. The widespread threat of further mutated viruses spurred a quantum leap forward in the field of genetic engineering. While world governments used the new knowledge to unravel the deadly code of viruses, private entities created genetically enhanced organisms. After reconstituting a genetically improved dog that was both disease resistant and possessed increased intelligence, a small but wealthy segment of society began to demand that the technology be used to improve the “human condition” directly._

 _The first manipulations of the human genome had already eliminated genetic disease, but private financiers adapted genetic engineering to create ethically questionable beings faster than struggling governments could legislate or regulate against them. Clones, designer babies, uplifted animal species, and extreme body modification became common among the wealthy. By the beginning of the twenty-seventh century, tensions between private corporations and world governments escalated. In 2610, the Eugenics Wars fully engaged the entire planet._

 _In 2612, the first nuclear device was used by genetic terrorists against a government facility. The species of the terrorists was never uncovered. The details of that time are not well documented, but within a year, most of the population had been devastated by nuclear weapons, and the planet was plunged into a societal and ecological disaster from which the human race would not recover._

Galen stopped reading and let the pad drop into his lap. _The human race would not recover_. Well, Virdon had his answer if he was ready for it. Again, a lot of the passage Galen didn’t understand, but he understood destruction. Zaius had spoken to him once of the downfall of humans, and he had said that they destroyed themselves with their machines and their science. That much, it seemed, he spoke truly.

 _Oh, my friends,_ he thought, even as he grieved for that world that was. _Your race did this to themselves—and to the entire planet._


	5. Blind As A Bat

_I'm not afraid of the past no more  
I'm not afraid that I'm bad for good  
I used to dance to the devil's beat  
If I could bust into hell I would ****_

Levi was waiting in Zeke’s quarters, lounging on the sofa when the door opened.

“ _Avi_?” Zeke greeted him with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see how you were feeling after the session in Council today. I know that reading Galen must have been draining.” He gestured for Zeke to sit down, which he did with a weary sigh.

 “Yeah.” He paused, sensing more than just parental concern. Levi raised an eyebrow; he wanted more than a one-word answer. “I expected that it was going to be… different. But it wasn’t as strange as I feared. He’s not like any other ape we’ve ever encountered. He’s… an idealist.” He smirked as the words of Galen’s father came back to him. “He thinks he can change the world, make it better—for humans as well as apes.”

“What do you think he would make of his, er, local cousins?”

“I think he’d be horrified,” Zeke answered bluntly. “And then I think he would try to find a way to redeem them.”

“And if they can’t be redeemed?”

“I don’t know. If you are asking me whether we can count on his cooperation, I just don’t know. But he’s intelligent, logical, and may be persuaded by the right argument. Or the right circumstances. He’s got one of the most highly developed senses of morality that I’ve ever seen.”

“Well, that’s better than we could have hoped, I suppose.” Levi shrugged. “And since Mal will probably never admit it, I’ll tell you that I think you made the right decision to bring him here.” He patted Zeke’s shoulder affectionately.

“Why is Mal pushing me so hard all of a sudden? Giving me responsibility for the visitors.” Zeke scoffed. “That must have gone over in Council like a lead balloon when he proposed it.”

“Don’t discount yourself, son. Just because Mal thinks that—“

“That I’m a wastrel who spends too much time tinkering in the central plant and carousing with my friends,” he interrupted with an edge of bitterness.

“No,” Levi stressed. “No. He has high expectations, maybe unrealistically so. I think he sees you approaching an age when you should think more about the future than the present.”

“I think about the future,” he replied petulantly, hating how it came out sounding like a whine. “I just don’t necessarily want my future to fall under his shadow.”

“He wants you to sit on the Council—eventually. Of course he does. I’d like to see that come to pass as well. But even if you do follow in his footsteps, the journey will still be your own. You’ve got a way of looking at the world that is all you.”

Zeke snorted again, “Yeah, well, I think that’s what worries the old bird most.”

Levi tried to look stern. “And if I tell him you call him ‘the old bird’ he’ll have you off Council business and scrubbing waste recyclers so fast your head will spin.”

“Promise?”

Levi cuffed him affectionately on the head. “Get some rest, brat.” He turned back as he got to the door. “Oh, Tirzah wants to know if you’ll be joining us for the evening meal.”

“I can’t. I promised Alan and Galen I’d come eat with them. Tell her I’ll come visit soon, okay?”

 

******

When Virdon woke from his nap, Galen handed him the pad cued to the section outlining the demise of the human race in the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh centuries. He read for a while, tapping on the screen to bring up related articles on genetic engineering and the Eugenics War. He was still reading when Zeke arrived that evening. Galen gave Zeke a warning look when he entered, nodding in Virdon’s direction. “He’s been catching up on his history,” he sighed.

“Oh.” Zeke could feel the emotion radiating off of Virdon from across the room. When Virdon looked up, his face was stony and closed. “I’m sorry, Alan. I—“ He couldn’t think of any words that wouldn’t sound trite and ridiculous. “I’m sorry.”

“We did it to ourselves.” His voice was rough, and his Texas twang was more pronounced than usual. “Hell, we did it to everyone. We mucked about in things we had no business mucking around in, and then when someone tried to say ‘enough,’ we destroyed each other!”

Zeke shrugged, unsure what to say.

“We created your race and the apes, didn’t we? We created them, and then when we were done blowing each other to bits, they took over. Isn’t that right?” A tightly leashed anger threatened to tip into hysteria.

“Yes.” Zeke replied quietly.

Galen looked back and forth between the other two. “What do you mean, Alan?” His eyes narrowed, and his next words were clipped and cold. “Do you mean to say that Man created Ape?”

“Yes, Galen!”

“No, no, no. That’s impossible!“ Galen began to protest, his own anger rising to challenge his friend’s.

“’Uplifted animal species’! Uplifted!” He turned back to Zeke. “That means we made them intelligent, we made them sentient, didn’t we?” Zeke nodded, his mouth a tight line. “What other species?” Virdon demanded. “Besides the chimps, orangs, and gorillas? What else!”

“Dolphins. Rats. Dogs. There were some… experiments… with non-mammals—birds, reptiles, insects—but they all ended in disaster. They eventually settled on splicing certain genes from those species into humans to express traits that they wanted, like flight.” He shrugged his wings. “Some of those chimeric species did well, and some didn’t.”

Galen slowly sank down onto the couch, his jaw slack and eyes wide. He hadn’t understood, hadn’t _imagined_ the meaning behind what he had read. But Virdon had grasped it immediately. Man had created Ape. _Man. Had. Created. Ape_. And then Apes had subjugated their Creator. Subjugated. Enslaved. Slaughtered.

“So everything, _everything_ I’ve been taught about Ape history, about the origin of Ape, is a _lie_!”

“Yes, I’m afraid it is, Galen.” Zeke sat down opposite Galen. “Now I hope you understand a little better why my people have such a fear of apes.”

“So how did this city survive the war? Why weren’t you wiped out like everything else?’ Virdon asked.

“The corporation that created my species had an underground shelter protected from the bombs. It wasn’t nearly as large as it is now, but they used it like an ark. Saved as many people as they could, with technology and data and everything they would need to survive. We’ve existed here ever since.”

“And do you still have the knowledge to manipulate genes?”

“Some of it. But,” he added hastily, “we have vowed never to use it that way again. We’ve tried to learn from the mistakes of the past.”

“I sure as hell hope someone did,” Virdon ground out bitterly, “because humans obviously didn’t.”

 

******

The next day, Galen sat by Burke’s bedside trying not to fidget. He wasn’t entirely comfortable being alone in a room with the angels, but he had promised Virdon that he would stay with Burke while Zeke took the astronaut to see Gabe about the flight recorder disk. It’s not that he disliked Jed; in fact, Jed was probably his favorite of the angels he had met so far. Perhaps it was that the coloring of his hair and wings reminded Galen of an orangutan, or maybe it was just the mild manner with which he seemed to take everything in stride. But he felt _almost_ at ease.

“Jed?”

“Hmm?” He was intently manipulating the controls on the panel next to Burke’s bed.

“Why did you decide to become a…” he paused for a moment, trying to remember the word the Albans used for their doctors, “a healer?”

Jed touched the screen to make a final adjustment to Burke’s treatment then looked up to smile at Galen.

“Oh, I don’t know. Why does anyone choose their vocation?” He moved to sit in a chair across the table. “I was good at it, I suppose. And I like helping people.” He shrugged. “And it doesn’t hurt that it dovetailed nicely with my Gift.”

“Gift?”

“Like Zeke is an empath; he can feel other people’s emotions. My Gift is that I can feel what’s wrong with someone, and for small injuries or minor illnesses, I can… encourage the body to heal. Like when you and Alan spent that your first night in the medical center, and your shoulder had been injured in the fall. I took away the pain.”

“I thought that the medicines you gave us did that.”

“The injections? No,” Zeke chuckled, “those were just vitamins.”

Galen tilted his head to one side. “Is that why you spend so much time here with Pete? At first I thought that when you touched him so much, you were just checking his wounds, but then I noticed that you would… linger. Are _you_ healing him as well?”

Zeke smiled and shrugged. “I’m doing what I can. Healing that way is very tiring for me. So the nanites are doing most of the work, but I still trust my own instincts about how he is doing more than the monitors. When I can, I try to give everything a little extra push in the right direction.”

“Oh. Well, thank you.”

“You really do care about them both, don’t you?” Jed asked with an edge of surprise in his voice.

“Of course I do. They’re my friends,” he replied, as if that explained everything.

“But don’t you wish sometimes that you’d never met them? That you could have your old life back, not be a fugitive to your own kind?”

Galen’s eyes wrinkled with momentary sorrow. “Sometimes I do when I’m very tired or very hungry, but just for a moment. Then I remember what they’ve shown me, and what would have happened to them if we hadn’t met.”

“And what have they shown you?” Jed wondered.

“The truth. All my life, I’ve been around humans, but it was like I was looking at the world through a fog, seeing only what I wanted to see and letting the rest fade into the background. And when I met Alan and Pete, the fog lifted. I saw things… differently. I saw the cruelty of a world where one species is master over another. I also saw the courage and kindness, from both apes and humans, that seems to follow us. And now I’ve learned the truth that my own people have hidden from themselves. That our entire history is a lie, that Apes owe their very existence to Man.”

“So do we, Galen.” Jed raised an eyebrow. “I guess we’re in good company, huh?”

“Yes, I would say very good company, indeed.” He paused for a moment and seemed to consider. “So no, I wouldn’t trade that for a soft bed and full belly. However, if those happened to come along with the rest, I wouldn’t turn them down, either,” he chuckled.

 

******

When Virdon returned from meeting with Gabe, Galen practically pounced on him the minute the door opened. “Alan! Alan, he woke up! Just for a minute, but he woke up and he talked.” He grabbed Virdon’s arm and pulled him over to Burke’s bedside, leaving Zeke to get a quiet update from Jed.

“That’s great, Galen! What did he say?”

“Well,” the chimp’s face clouded over, “he wasn’t exactly making a lot of sense. He said something about flying monkeys and a wicked witch. And he called Jed a cowardly lion, which doesn’t seem very nice, since he doesn’t even know Jed. And I am _not_ a monkey, and I don’t… What _are_ you laughing at, Alan?”

Virdon couldn’t hold back the laughter he was trying to hide with the hand over his mouth. Eventually, he sagged into a chair, still shaking with repressed mirth. “ _The Wizard of Oz_ , Galen. It’s a movie. It was his way of saying he thought he was dreaming. Or hallucinating.”

“Oh.” Galen’s face fell even further.

“Look, don’t take it personally. He talked, and he _did_ make sense in his own… unique way. It’s a good sign.”

“Oh. Oh!” He brightened considerably. “Well, then. Yes. Good.” He smiled down at Burke, then turned back to Virdon. “So what did Zeke’s friend say about your disk?”

“It’s going to take some tinkering, just to see if the data on it is even intact,” he explained. “Gabe’s going to start working on a reader for it, but it may be a while before we have anything useful. Look, I’ve got a bunch of technical stuff to read, to see if I can get up to speed on thirty-first century electronics.” Virdon sighed and hefted the pad he’d taken to carrying everywhere with him. “Why don’t you take a break, go do some sightseeing? I’ll sit with Pete for a while.”

“C’mon, Galen,” Zeke said. “I’ll show you our gardens. I think you’ll like it there.”

“Are we going to have to,” Galen swallowed noisily, “ _fly_ to reach these gardens?”

“Not if you don’t want to,” Zeke teased.

“I don’t.” Galen deadpanned. “I’ve been up in the air on wings once in my life, and that was quite enough for me, thank you very much.”

 

******

Virdon laid the pad he had been reading on the table and rolled his shoulders, stretching out the stiff muscles. He closed his eyes and twisted his head from side to side, satisfied with the cracking noise from his neck. When he glanced back at the bed, Burke’s eyelids were fluttering open.

“Jed!” he called to the healer, who was bent over a console analyzing the latest data from the miniature robots still coursing through Burke’s body. He hitched the chair closer to the bed and laid a hand on Burke’s shoulder. “Pete? Can you hear me?”

Burke groaned and blinked rapidly, his bleary gaze finally coming to rest on Virdon. “Al?” he croaked. “Where—“ was all he could get out before his voice failed him.

Jed pressed a glass of water into Virdon’s hand, then focused on scanning the readouts on a screen near the raised head of the bed.

“You’re gonna be okay. We’re safe here.” Virdon reassured him while he sipped at the water.

His eyes widened slightly as Jed’s presence registered. “Are… we dead?”

“No, no!” _Well, not any more._ “This is Jed. I know he looks like an angel, but we aren’t dead. It’s… a long story.”

Jed’s smirk disappeared as his brows creased together.

“Tired.” Burke slurred as his eyelids slid closed again. “Jones… where’s Jonesy?” he muttered as he lost consciousness again.

Jed watched the blood drain from Virdon’s face. “Alan, who is Jones?” he asked in alarm.

“Steve Jones, the third crewmember on our ship. He died when we crashed,” he explained. He looked up at Jed with a worried expression. “That was over a year ago, Jed.”

The healer frowned, and he raised a hand to rub at his chin. “This is what I was afraid of.”

“Look, maybe…maybe he was just confused for a minute. He was still pretty out of it,” Virdon insisted.

“It’s still too early to tell anything for sure. Let’s focus on the positive.” Jed pointed a finger at Virdon. “He knew who _you_ were. That’s tremendous. The rest, we just have to wait and see.”

Virdon nodded, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.

 

******

Burke slept the rest of the day. Much as Virdon wanted to go back to Gabe’s workshop so he could do something, anything useful, he refused to leave Burke’s side. He didn’t want his friend to wake up again in a strange place with no familiar faces. And if Burke’s memory was as badly messed up as he suspected, even Galen’s anxious and well-intentioned presence would be a big shock. Jed had a cot brought in for Virdon to at least get some sleep while he held his vigil. A healer was constantly present; if not Jed, then Miriam or another human named Tobias.

Virdon woke from a dreamless sleep to Miriam shaking him gently. His eyes were slow to focus on her face in the dim light.

“He’s awake again, Alan,” she said urgently.

He quickly pushed himself off the cot and shuffled over to where Burke was looking dazedly around the room. Virdon smiled and clutched at his friend’s arm.

“Hey. How’re you feeling?”

Burke groaned. “Did you get the number of the truck?” He rubbed his hand over his eyes, looking more alert by the moment. “Where are we, Al? I had some weird ass dreams about talking monkeys and…angels?”

“What’s the last thing you remember, Pete?” Virdon tried to keep the worry off his face.

“Hmm.” Burke’s brows knit together in concentration. “Being on the ship. It’s all kinda fuzzy, but we were about three weeks into the mission, I think.” He frowned. “Alan, where _are_ we? What happened to the ship?”

Virdon sighed and sank into the chair next to the bed. “The ship crashed. Jonesy was killed.” He rubbed a hand over his forehead, trying to decide how much to tell Burke. This was not going to be easy on either of them.

“Aw, damn.” Burke shook his head. “What else aren’t you telling me, Alan? I know that look.”

“The crash—it was over a year ago, Pete. You were badly injured recently, and it seems to have affected your memory.”

Burke shook his head. “Like what, amnesia?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Burke lifted his wrist to examine the bracelet and the tubing traveling to fluids above his head. He ran his other hand over the bandage over his flank, wincing when the movement pulled on his injured shoulder.

Miriam came over and checked the readouts on the bed. “Pete, I’m Miriam.”

“Well, hello, Miriam,” he flashed her a half-hearted smile. “If I weren’t so tired, I’d probably ask you for a sponge bath.”

“Maybe another time. You need to take things nice and slow for a while.” She gave Virdon a meaningful look.

“Al, where are we? This doesn’t look like any hospital I’ve every seen before. And I _know_ when I woke up earlier, I saw a guy with wings in here. What is going on?”

“Okay, Pete.” Virdon sighed. And for the second time in as many days, he explained, in a much more abbreviated version, the story of their crash. Only now he also elaborated on the existence of talking apes and genetically engineered angels.

Burke was quiet through the whole thing, and his eyelids were drooping by the time Virdon finished.

“Pete? Talk to me, pal.”

“Yeah.” He rubbed his eyes. “Yeah. I’m not sure what to think right now. It’s all pretty heavy stuff. And I’m beat, need to sleep. You’ll be here, right?”

“I’ll be here.”


	6. Get It Right

_What can you do when your good isn't good enough  
And all that you touch tumbles down  
'Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things  
I just wanna fix it somehow_

 

“So he doesn’t remember me at all?” Galen asked.

“I’m afraid not.” Virdon sighed. “He doesn’t remember the crash or anything since then. But we don’t know if it’s permanent. Jed says as more damage is repaired, it may unlock some or all of those memories.” He looked over at the sleeping form. “Look, you might as well stick around and talk to him when he wakes up again. Maybe it’ll help him remember. Just don’t take it personally if he isn’t... well, you remember what it was like that first week we were all thrown together, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes, I do. He and I argued almost constantly. I think if you hadn’t been there, we probably would have gone our separate ways. Or come to blows.” Galen shook his head ruefully. “But I like to think I’m a different ape than I was then.”

The first weeks of their journey together had been difficult for the three fugitives and their nascent friendship. Still adjusting to being an enemy of the state, Galen had not been as understanding as he could have been to Virdon and Burke’s distress. After all, they’d been catapulted a thousand years from their own time, from their home and the people they knew and cared for. Virdon’s grief over his family coalesced into an iron-willed determination to find a way back to them. Burke, on the other hand, focused on the fact that during those thousand years, his species had been demoted from top of the heap to bottom of the barrel. He’d had some very unkind things to say about apes, not always considering Galen’s feelings before launching into his tirades. Harsh words and heated arguments threatened to destroy their fellowship before they had reached an accord.

“Yeah, we’ve all come a long way since then,” Virdon reminded him.

Galen’s expression grew downcast. “Alan, what if he doesn’t ever remember me?”

“We have to hope for the best, Galen. And if not, well, you’ll just have to get reacquainted all over again. Hopefully this time without the arguing.”

 

******

But the next time Burke woke up, Galen had gone back to his own quarters, saying he needed some time alone to think. Virdon was telling Zeke and Jed about some of Burke’s more colorful exploits during their astronaut training when a quiet voice interrupted them.

“No, _Jonesy_ put the shaving cream in your hand, I just tickled your forehead.” Burke smiled lazily, his eyes still closed.

Then he opened his eyes. “Holy fu—“ he let the hushed exclamation trail off unfinished.

All things considered, he took introduction to the angels pretty well.

“So I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore, huh, Toto?”

“No, but I think these are the good witches,” Virdon replied, smiling. “Jed’s been working all sorts of miracles on your sorry ass. Better than the docs back home. And Zeke’s our friendly native guide.”

“So what’s the prognosis, Doc? How long is my head going to be Swiss-cheesed?” Jed did a double-take before he realized that Burke was talking to him.

“Oh, uh, well, physically, you’re healing quickly. You need to take it easy, but I think you can start getting up and around, if you feel up to it. As far as your memory, I’d like to do some tests, a full neurological workup. That should give us more information.”

“Great. So what’s a guy gotta do to get some chow in this place? You think you can get that servitor thingy to whip up a nice steak, medium rare, with all the fixings?”

Instead, he got a protein-rich shake. Start slow, they said. _Yeah, tell that to my stomach._ He made a face as he sipped the thick creamy liquid.

As part of the neurological testing, Jed asked him a series of questions while scanning different areas of his brain. Then Virdon asked him about recent experiences they’d shared, people and apes they’d met. That was when Burke started to get frustrated. Almost every question that didn’t involve the mission stymied him.

“What are Galen’s parents’ names?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.” It was becoming a litany.

“What was the name of the last village we passed through?”

Suddenly, he pounded his fist on the bed. “Damn it, Alan, I said I don’t remember!”

Ceaseless noise. Bright lights. Someone asking him the same questions, over and over, when all he wanted to do was sleep. But that someone wasn’t Alan.

“Okay, okay,” Virdon tried to sooth him. “It’ll come back, Pete.”

Questions. Endless questions. _I want the truth!_

Frowning, Jed was punching rapidly at buttons on the monitoring console. “All right, Alan, I think that’s enough.”

 _Have you had enough? Do you want more?_

Burke shook his head, pushing down the voice and the feelings of anger and helplessness—of fear—that it evoked.

“Sorry, Al.” His voice shook a little. He rubbed at his temple. “I know you’re just trying to help.” He leaned back on the bed with a sigh. “So where is this Galen guy, er, chimp? Might as well get this whole thing over with.”

“He’ll be here soon; Zeke went to get him.” Virdon sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. “You sure you’re ready for this, Pete?”

Burke smiled, but his eyes were full of apprehension. “Don’t worry, Alan, I’m not going to freak out or anything. Talking apes. I get it. I’m a regular Jane Goodall.”

To Burke, this whole situation was damned peculiar. He may not have his memories of the last year, but he knew Virdon well enough to tell that his commanding officer was holding back from him. Like what, exactly, had been the nature of the injury that had cost him those memories. He could feel the depression—no, depressions, one front and one back—on his right flank, evidence of healing wounds. His left shoulder still ached when he moved it, and he was having trouble holding onto things with that hand. There were also places on his back where the skin pulled strangely; when he reached around with his hand, he could feel a few ridges of scar tissue. What the hell had happened to him?

And then there was the whole talking ape thing. Even though the few humans he had seen since he woke up seemed like anyone he’d known back home, Virdon told him that the majority of humans they’d encountered up to this point had been functionally Stone Age, maybe Bronze Age. The apes were the ones in charge, and humans were in the best situations, subservient serfs, and in the worst cases, bonded slaves. The world his friend described sounded like someone’s worst nightmare.

Why couldn’t he remember any of what Virdon was asking him about? He was having flashes of faces and voices that he didn’t understand. The emotions they evoked were sometimes frightening, but he was determined not to let Virdon see it. Virdon looked like he’d been through a wringer; Burke couldn’t imagine what the last year must have been like for him, separated from his family by a thousand years with very little hope of returning to them. Yeah, he wasn’t going to add to the Colonel’s worry if he could help it. Hopefully Jed would have a more positive prognosis for him when he was finished analyzing the data from the scans.

He looked up when the door opened to admit Zeke and Galen. Jed surreptitiously moved closer to Burke’s bedside.

Galen entered the room very tentatively, looking anxious enough for both of them. He stopped at the foot of Burke’s bed. “Hi, Pete. How are you feeling?”

Burke’s eyes widened a bit, and he swallowed loudly in the suddenly quiet room. He glanced at Virdon, who nodded reassurance. “Uh, hi, uh, Galen. I’m doing okay, I guess.”

 _A squeal of stressed metal. Activate the homing beacon! The whine of overworked engines. We’re going down!_

Burke was starting to breathe more heavily, and Jed was starting to frown. At a gesture from Jed, Zeke positioned himself on the opposite side of the bed.

“So we’re buddies, huh?” Burke brought a hand up to rub at his temple. A headache was starting to throb, causing little starbursts on the edges of his vision. “Alan says you saved our lives. Thanks for that.”

 _We could have landed on a worst place, I’ll tell you that. Gunshots ricocheting over their heads. Alan, look out! Those were apes, weren’t they!_

Galen smiled, “Yes, but then you saved me. And that, as they say, was that.”

“Yeah, sounds like we hit it right off.” His voice was growing distant, distracted, as the corners of his eyes tightened up with pain.

 _Enemies of the state must be put to death!_

“Pete?” Jed interrupted as he grasped Burke’s arm. “What’s wrong?”

“Headache.” He closed his eyes and leaned back, the muscles in his neck cording with tension. “Gettin’ bad.”

“Okay, that’s enough excitement for today.” Jed turned to Virdon, his voice clipped and efficient. “I’m sorry, Alan, but I need you both to clear out for a while.”

“Is he—“ Virdon began.

“Now, Alan.” Jed’s voice was quiet, but the look in his eyes cut off all objections.

“C’mon, guys,” Zeke ushered them toward the door. “Let us take care of him. Go back to your room, I’ll let you know when he’s feeling better.” He thumbed the panel to open the door and gently crowded them out of the room.

“Need you, Zeke!” Jed called. Zeke rushed back over just as Burke’s body went rigid and began to thrash. “Shit!” Jed swore, quickly lowering the head of the bed. “Don’t let him fall, but don’t restrain him,” he instructed Zeke, then turned to grab an injector out of a cart.

A moment later, Tobias rushed into the room. Zeke stepped back to let the other healer take his place. Jed applied the injector to Burke’s neck, and his body went limp. Tobias moved to the monitoring panel.

“Electric activity in the temporal lobe is all over the place,” Tobias called out. “Pulse, pressure, respirations all elevated. No sign of any bleeding in the brain. I’m redirecting nanite activity to the hippocampus.” He glanced up at Jed, who nodded. He tapped commands into the monitor in quick, staccato succession.

“What the hell happened, Jed?” Zeke asked when the crisis seemed to have passed.

“Right before he seized, I detected increased activity in the part of the brain that stores memories. I think seeing Galen triggered something, like a flashback. Only it was more than he could process.”

“Is he going to be all right?”

“Physically, yes. There isn’t any new trauma. This was all psychosomatic, his body reacting to distress from his mind.”

“So he’s remembering? That’s good, right?”

“Yeah, but imagine a year’s worth of memories, a lot of them probably not very pleasant, all trying to reassert themselves in a short period of time. It’s going to be rough—for him and his friends.”

“Can you keep him sedated while all that happens?”

“No, he needs to be conscious for the memories to be processed and stored properly in the brain.”

“Damn.” Zeke took a deep breath. “Look, if he’s stable for now, I think you better come with me to explain all this to Galen and Alan.”

 

******

When he woke again, Burke was alone with Miriam and Zeke. The angel slouched in a chair next to the bed, dozing in the dim light. The healer sat at the table, pouring over a pad.

Burke groaned, bringing both of them to his side.

“How do you feel, Pete?” Miriam asked, raising the head of the bed slightly.

“Like the bottom of a dog pile under the entire Cowboys’ defensive line.”

“You had a seizure.” Miriam pressed an injector into his neck. “I’m giving you a mild muscle relaxant. Try not to move around too much.”

“Great.” He looked around the room. “Where’s Alan? And… and Galen?”

“Jed wants to restrict your visitors for a while. And it’s the middle of the night. I imagine they’re sleeping.” Zeke explained. “Do you remember anything more?”

“Kinda. I’ve got all these faces floating around in my head. Apes, mostly. But I can’t put names to them, or tell you why I know them. Just feelings. Except for this one big ugly mother of a gorilla. Urko. Man, does he want to frag my ass.” He shook his head. “But Galen, he’s okay, a real stand-up gu—chimp.”

“Yes, he is,” Zeke agreed. “He’s a good friend. And very worried about you.”

“Well, that makes two of us.” Burke plucked at the covers for a moment, then raised his gaze to Zeke’s face. “Look, Zeke, will you tell me something straight up? What happened to me?”

“Jed would be better—“

“Jed would give me a bunch of medical gobbly-gook that wouldn’t be any better than the non-answers I’m getting from Alan. C’mon, man, spill.”

“Okay.” He glanced up at Miriam, but she just shrugged at him. “The short version is that you fell onto some rebar. It punched through your kidney and shoulder. Alan and Galen watched you bleed out. There was nothing they could do to help you. We arrived just as you were… dying.”

“Aw, hell.” Burke was quiet for a moment. “So why can’t I remember any of this?”

“Your brain was deprived of oxygen. But your memory is coming back, and Jed is confident that all the damage will be repaired.”

Burke stared at his hands, then finally looked back up at Zeke. “So, how long?”

“At the rate you’re healing—“

“No,” Burke interrupted. “How long was I dead, Zeke?”

Zeke’s lips pressed into a thin line as he decided how much to reveal. “A couple of minutes. Three or four at the most.”

“Damn,” he exclaimed quietly. “No wonder Al is acting like an old mother hen. Dumb-ass Colonel probably blames himself, I’ll bet.” Colonel Virdon always did take his responsibility as mission commander a little too seriously, in Burke’s opinion. But three or four minutes—that was a long time. Probably would have been permanent in his day.

He closed his eyes, suddenly very tired, thinking about all the times one of them had come close to buying the farm. Leave it to him to be the one to finally hit the jackpot. He yawned hugely as the muscle relaxant took its toll, and his eyelids slid closed. In a moment, he was deeply asleep.

It wasn’t until Zeke tried to go sit back in the chair that he noticed Burke’s hand gripping his wrist. Without even thinking about it, Zeke reached out to brush the human’s sleep-relaxed mind. The fear, anxiety, and memories of pain that roiled beneath the calm veneer surprised him. He pulled his consciousness back with a gasp; he hadn’t intended to read Burke in his defenseless state, but the connection had formed unbidden. He’d never had that happen before.

 

******

When Jed arrived in the morning, he found Zeke asleep slouched over in a chair, his head cradled in arms that rested on the edge of Burke’s bed, his wings splayed out on the floor on either side. Miriam updated him on Burke’s condition, but just raised an eyebrow when he asked about Zeke’s presence.

After Miriam left, he stood for a moment looking at his best friend, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He shook Zeke gently as he softly called his name. Zeke woke with a startled grunt and blinked blearily at Jed.

“Something I should know?” Jed looked pointedly at where Zeke was disentangling his hand from Burke’s.

A flush spread across Zeke’s face. He pushed himself upright and pulled Jed a few feet away. “He woke up in the night. And he may be trying to play it cool, but underneath that, he’s pretty damn confused. He just needed to know someone was there.” He shrugged, determined to ignore his friend’s teasing.

“Just be careful, okay?” He pursed his lips. “For both your sakes.”

“Sure. Don’t worry so much,” he urged with a grin, patting Jed on the cheek. “Look, I have to go talk to Mal, let him know how things are going. Buzz me if anything comes up, okay? And touch base with Alan and Galen when you get a chance.”

Jed snorted. “Yeah. Good luck with the old bird, _ahuvi_.”

 

******

A quick check with his link told him that Mal was still in his quarters. He took off in the central shaft and with powerful strokes of his wings, soared upward. When he got to the quarters his family shared, he thumbed the chime on the door. The door opened to an older woman, who pulled Zeke into a hug.

“Zeke, it’s about time you came to visit,” she murmured into his chest as he wrapped his arms and wings around her.

“Good morning, _dodah_ ,” he replied, dropping a kiss on her head. He looked past her to where Mal and Levi were eating at the table.

“Are you hungry? Have you had breakfast yet?” Tirzah pushed him away at arms’ length as she looked him up and down. “You look tired.”

“I’m fine, just starving,” he teased, holding a hand over his stomach and feigning weakness.

She laid a hand on his cheek, giving his beard a quick rub. “I like this, it makes you look very… distinguished.” She took his arm and led him further into the room.

“Tirzah, let the boy get some food,” Levi admonished kindly, as he got up and gave her a kiss, then Zeke a hug.

“Good morning, Ezekiel,” Mal smiled from his seat at the table, his graying wings spread out behind him.

“Morning, _eema_ ,” Zeke nodded to the other angel. He ordered a plate of food from the servitor, then took the empty seat at the table between Mal and Levi. Tirzah pecked Mal on the cheek before she left for the day, to her job as a teacher.

“So how are our visitors?” Mal asked when Zeke had gotten halfway through his food.

He recounted a quick summary of Burke’s condition, along with Jed’s prognosis, but skipped over his conversation and other experience with Burke last night. When he told Mal about taking Virdon to see Gabriel, and their plan to retrieve the data from the astronauts’ flight recorder disk, the older angel pursed his lips in disapproval.

“I still think we could be courting disaster by encouraging their quest to return to the past. But the majority of the Council feels that there’s no harm in gaining more information about how they got here. I’m sure Gabriel knows that the Council will want to closely monitor his work and receive reports on any fruits of his labors. What we may allow to be done with that information still remains to be decided.”

“I understand, and I’ve expressed that to Alan as well.”

“Very good. And what of the ape, Galen?” Mal asked.

“He still seems nervous being here, but that’s understandable, I think, given that he’s the only one of his kind in the city. He also had a big shock, learning about the true origin of his species. He’s been reading our history texts voraciously, and we’ve had some interesting philosophical discussions about them. His curiosity seems insatiable.”

“That’s fine. Allow him continued access to our public records. Maybe he would like to work with one of our scholars, perhaps Elias?”

“I’m sure Galen would be thrilled.” Zeke tried not to let his relief show. He was an engineer, not a scholar, and Galen’s constant questions sometimes tried his patience.

“Oh, just so you’re aware, we are sending a team out to repair the Vega station today. Joshua is leading.”

Zeke nodded. “Galen was concerned about the apes we left in the station. He thinks they could try to force their way into the hypertube. The gorilla leader, Urko, is evidently particularly tenacious when it comes to chasing these three.”

“Duly noted. We’ll make sure the team takes the appropriate countermeasures.” Mal pushed himself up from his chair. “Well, if that’s everything, I have to check on the Vega mission.”

“Nothing else I can think of.” Zeke rose as well. “But I had some things I wanted to talk to Levi about.” He glanced over at the other man, then put his hand on Mal’s chest. “Have a good day, _eema_.”

Mal returned the gesture. “Good day, son.”

Zeke sat back down and concentrated on finishing his food while Mal departed.

After another few moments passed, Levi leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, Zeke? What was it you didn’t want to talk about in front of Mal?”

Zeke sighed as he pushed his plate away from him and also leaned back in his chair. He ran a hand along the edge of the table, then finally spoke, his eyes still downcast. “Last night,” he began, “I was in the medical center when Pete woke up after his seizure.” He paused again, not sure exactly what he should say. “We talked for a few minutes, and then when he fell back asleep, he grabbed onto me. I didn’t mean to—I don’t know how it happened—but I started to read him. A deep read,” he emphasized. “I—I stopped as soon as I realized what was happening—“

“And what you saw upset you?” Mal probed gently.

“He’s so… vulnerable, _avi_. He’s putting on this front for Alan, I think, that he’s just going to take things as they come—that the fact that he died, that he can’t remember the last year of his life, are… are nothing. But inside, he’s confused, worried, and desperate to make sense of everything.”

“Zeke—“

“ _Avi_ , he has these scars on his back, from being beaten with a whip, and I don’t think he even remembers how he got them. And I think he’s afraid to remember.” He finally looked up at Levi. “I would be.”

“So you’re feeling, what, protective? That’s only natural. Just don’t mistake your empathy for his situation for… something else.”

Zeke shifted in his seat. “I’m not, I just—“ He shook his head. “I’m just concerned. We can’t all be as locked down as my dear _eema_. I’ve never understood how someone so warm and caring ever got involved with someone so emotional… unavailable as Mal is.” The implied question was not entirely sarcastic.

Levi sat back again and smiled. “You’d be surprised—”

“Ew,” Zeke interrupted, holding up a hand. “Please, no traumatizing mental images.”

“He’s got the same gift as you, Zeke, and a lot more years of dealing with it. He has developed mental discipline, just to be able to block out the emotional leakage of the people around him. And if he’s distant with you, it’s only to protect _you_ from feeling _his_ emotions. It doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t there. He loves you very much.” He squeezed Zeke’s arm. “But to answer your question, he hasn’t always been this disciplined, either. When we were first courting, he was much freer with his feelings.” He tilted his head, considering for a minute. “Honestly, the thing that really got me was the scent of his wings.”

“Huh? I’ve never noticed wings having a scent.”

“Exactly. It’s pheromones. And they are only detectable to certain people. I can smell the pheromones given off by his wings. I thought I was nuts at first, smelling things no one else smelled. But that’s what it was.”

“What do they smell like?” Zeke’s face was filled with trepidation.

Levi smiled wistfully. “Freshly cut grass.”

 


	7. It Just Won't Quit

_And I never really sleep anymore,  
And I always get those dangerous dreams  
And I never get a minute of peace,  
And I gotta wonder what it means_

 

The first time Urko saw Burke walking in the sand next to him, he pulled his pistol and fired before he remembered that Burke was already dead. The human laughed at him as the bullet puffed the sand a few yards away.

“You’re dead,” Urko told him flatly.

“Maybe you are, too. Ever think of that?”

“Well, now I’m reassured. Because if you said it, it must be a lie.”

Urko rode on, the slow plodding of the horse in the sand making him sway in the saddle. He was determined to ignore this specter that haunted him. But Burke had other ideas.

“You’re lost, you know.” He smirked at Urko, an expression the general had long ago learned to hate. “In a _desert_. You shouldn’t have come into the Forbidden Zone.”

“I am _not_ lost.” Urko’s resolve to remain quiet crumbled. But he wouldn’t tell the human about the map he had found in the place underground. The place where Burke had died. A smile ghosted across his lips as he remembered the sight of the human, pinned like a bug in the rubble, and the bright red of his blood.

When he first regained consciousness in that place and saw only emptiness where Burke— _no, Burke’s_ _body_ , he reminded himself—had lain, he’d howled in frustration. He’d pounded on the concrete, smearing dust and barely congealed blood— _Burke’s blood_ —on his gloves and uniform. Then he saw the footprints in the dust.

Footprints. And strange narrow tracks through the dust of ages that covered the floor. They led to and from a metal wall. No, they were doors! Even as his soldiers implored him to leave that place, which in their small, superstitious minds was cursed, Urko ordered them to explore, to find anything that would give them a clue about where they were and where the human could have gone.

He ordered them away from the doors, though, so they wouldn’t obscure the footprints with their clumsy fumbling. Carefully, he followed the trail from the rubble toward the doors. Four, no, five sets of human footprints. One of those sets belonged to Virdon, he was sure of it. More sure than he had ever been of anything in his life. And where Virdon and Burke were, so was Galen.

For all he knew, they were just on the other side of those doors, laughing at him.

With a roar, he scrabbled at the doors, trying to press his fingers into the thin line where they met so he could pry them open. His bloody gloves slid and smeared across the unyielding metal, unable to find a purchase. Calling his soldiers to him, he ripped the gloves off his hands and threw them to the ground. But even with the added strength of the other three gorillas, the doors remained firmly in place.

While the other three battered uselessly with the stocks of their rifles, Urko searched for one of the thin metal bars littering the place to use as a lever. He returned with the bar, shoving the soldiers out of the way. He tried to wedge it between the doors, but there was no real opening for it to fit in. After a couple of attempts, he threw the bar aside. He raged, hurling bricks, debris, even his own soldiers, around the room.

Then his eyes fell on the map hanging on the wall. The gorillas cowered a safe distance away, staring as Urko’s fury fell away. Of course, none of the soldiers had understood the significance of the words “You Are Here” next to the inscription “Las Vegas,” and the dotted line that cut a straight path almost due east. Urko doubted that any of them could even read a map.

He shuffled closer, brushing away dust that clung to the frame enclosing the map. Yes, there, the dotted line ended at another inscription, “Albuquerque.” Below the map was another paper spread out, a grid titled “Train Schedule.” Train. The word felt familiar. He closed his eyes, concentrating on where he had heard it before.

Burke! When he and Burke had been trapped beneath the old ruined city, the human had shown him a train that traveled underground, that he claimed carried people from place to place under the city. Urko suddenly understood. This place was another underground station for a train, just like in the ruined city. He looked back up at the map, searching for a legend that would tell him how far it was to the other end of that dotted line.

Virdon and Galen would not escape him again.

He’d pulled the frame off the wall and taken the map.

That was a week ago. He’d been traveling in the direction of the rising sun ever since. When the other gorillas had balked at entering the desert of the Forbidden Zone, Urko had thought about shooting them for their insubordination. Instead, he demanded that they hand over all their food and water and left them behind. They’d only slow him down anyway.

He took another carefully rationed sip from one of the canteens. The desert sun beat down on him relentlessly. And now he was being haunted by Burke’s ghost. But it didn’t matter, because soon Virdon and Galen would die, too.

 

******

“Ape shall not kill Ape.”

Urko’s head snapped up from resting on his chest, as he grunted with surprise. He squinted against the sun at the shuffling figure in green who had replaced Burke. Smiling, he reached for his pistol again, then let his hand fall to his side with a deep sigh.

“Galen. You’re not really here, are you? Unless you are already dead, too—“ he added hopefully.

“No.” Galen made a small noise of amusement. “To both questions.”

“Then why are you here, haunting me?”

“Because you need someone to remind you that you are still an ape. A sad, sorry excuse for one, but still an ape, nonetheless.”

“In that case, I think I preferred Burke’s company.” Urko snorted. “At least he was properly dead.”

They traveled in silence for a few moments.

“You’re not one to talk, you know. At least I’m not a murderer and a traitor.”

“Oh? Really?”

“You, Galen, son of Yalu, murdered another ape.”

“No, murder implies premeditation. What happened between me and that guard was… an unfortunate accident. I never meant to hurt him, or anyone, for that matter.”

“And then you betrayed your own kind. And now you run with fugitive humans.”

“So I do. But this isn’t about me, Urko. It’s about you.”

“What about me?”

“How many apes have you killed? Or _had_ killed?” Galen stabbed a finger at the gorilla.

“None.”

“Really?” Galen’s nose wiggled. “Hmph.”

“Hmph? What does that mean?”

“It means that because I’m a figment of your mind, we both know the truth, even when you won’t admit it.”

“Gah,” Urko growled. “You speak riddles and nonsense. Like all chimpanzees. Like all orangutans. Just like Zaius and the High Council.”

“And you are above that nonsense, are you? You are above the law?”

“I _am_ the law!” Urko punched his fist into his other open hand. “Without me and my gorillas, there would be only chaos.”

“Where are _your_ gorillas now, Urko?”

Urko opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. Where were his men? He remembered having soldiers with him. Where were they?

“They…” His voice trailed off, as he tried to remember. “They were weak. They were _afraid_. They…” His eyes narrowed on Galen. “You! You and those humans. You killed them! Now it’s up to me to bring you to justice. Me!” He jabbed a gloved finger into his own chest. “And when I return with your heads, the High Council will reward me.”

“You think so?”

“Yes! Of course!”

“Zaius? You think Zaius will reward you?” Galen scoffed. “You _are_ a sorry excuse for an ape. Zaius hates you; he’s always hated you. He’s jealous of your power, your strength.”

“Zaius is weak! He’s an old ape. Maybe it’s time for him to go,” he said slyly. Then he laughed out loud. “Time for new blood on the Council! Time for a gorilla to head the Council! _We_ are the strong ones. _We_ should rule, not orangutans. Not chimpanzees.”

“Well, _that’s_ never going to happen. Unless—“ Galen’s eyes widened in horror.

“Yes. New blood.”

“Ape shall not kill Ape, Urko.”

“We’ll see about that.”

 

******

Burke was back. Urko wasn’t sure how long it had been. He’d stopped when the sun set, huddled against his horse for warmth as the temperature dropped precipitously. He slept fitfully, eating and drinking a little from his rapidly diminishing supplies. He had found an oasis in the sand the day before, but the water in the spring was lower enough that he was only able to refill one canteen, after he let his horse drink its fill. The animal was flagging now, but Urko refused to stop any more than absolutely necessary. While the sun was in the sky, he was able to keep heading east. But the days and nights began to all blur together. He was no longer certain how long he’d been traveling.

“Yep, you’re lost.” Burke informed him cheerfully.

“No, I am not,” Urko growled.

“If you say so.”

“Why won’t you go away and stay dead?”

“Would you rather have Galen back? To talk about deep thoughts like ethics and morality?” Burke smirked. “I don’t think so.”

When Urko refused to answer, Burke continued on as if he had.

“Now me, I can be the life of the party. C’mon, Urko, don’tcha wanna have some fun?”

“No.”

“Hey, I can tell you some jokes. You look like you could use a little pick-me-up.”

“Go away.”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Urko.” He pursed his lips for a moment, then smiled broadly. “Oh, I got one. What do you call a man with no arms and no legs floating in the water?” Pause. “Bob.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Hmm. Okay, how about a poem? There once was a man from Nantucket—“

“I don’t know where that is!”

“Wow. Tough crowd.” Burke rubbed his chin with his hand, then held a finger in the air. “I got it! Okay, okay, tell me if you’ve heard this one. How can you tell if a human is lying?”

Urko’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How?”

“His lips are moving.”

Urko’s lips twitched. The edges curled up into a smile, and a chuckle escaped.

“Yes!” Burke jumped and punched the air. “How can you tell if a human is stealing?”

Urko shook his head.

“He’s holding something.”

The gorilla tilted back his head and let loose a hearty guffaw. The laugh started in his belly and vibrated its way up through his chest and soon his eyes were tearing up as he clutched his midsection.

“Wait, wait, I have one,” he said to the ghost. “What do you call a hundred humans chained together at the bottom of the ocean?”

“What?”

“A good start.” He laughed even harder, unable to catch his breath.

Burke was laughing, too, with both his arms wrapped around his stomach. “How many humans does it take to ride a horse?”

“None, they would be shot first!” Urko answered, before he was taken by another fit.

“How many humans does it take to build a house?” Burke asked.

“As many as you want, they’re slaves!”

“How many humans does it take to destroy the world?”

Urko sobered instantly, like he’d been doused with cold water.

So did Burke. “One, Urko. Just one.”

 

******

When his horse died, he continued on foot. All he knew was that he needed to head east. He didn’t really remember why anymore, except that it had something to do with Galen, Virdon, and Burke. Maybe that’s why they kept talking to him.

He glanced over at Virdon. Damn, he was still there.

“Yes, Urko, I’m still here,” the human said. “It’s not really your fault, you know.”

Urko rolled his eyes. “What isn’t my fault?”

“That you disobeyed the High Council’s orders.”

“I never did.”

Virdon pulled a face. “Yeah, right.” He blew out a sigh. “Look, I’m on your side here. You were just doing what they told you to in the first place. How can you do your job when they put so many limits on you?”

Now it was Urko’s turn to smile. “Yes. Yes! They don’t understand.”

“That’s right. They don’t understand the sacrifices you’ve made. The time away from your home and your family. All to protect their sorry asses.”

“Yes.”

“Always vigilant.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re still going to fail.”

“Why?”

“Because _we_ aren’t your problem.”

“Then what _is_ my problem?” Why was he letting Virdon draw him into this discussion?

“The indomitability of the human spirit.”

Urko glared at him.

“Even when Burke and I are dead, even though you’ve killed the others who came before us, you can’t stop it. Unless you kill every human on the planet, eventually someone will stand up and say, ‘No.’”

“And that human will die.”

“And someone else will take his place. And another one after that, and another one after that. You can’t stop it.”

Urko was about to disagree when another voice interrupted him.

“That’s bull, Virdon, and you know it.” Burke walked on his other side, and even though his comment was addressed to Virdon, he watched Urko. “We had our chance, and we blew it.”

“Now, we don’t know—“ Virdon began, chopping at the air with his hand.

“Yes, we do. Zaius told us when we first got here. ‘Humans destroyed themselves with their machines and their science.’”

“That doesn’t mean we should just lie down and give up. Maybe we deserve a second chance.”

“Ha! We don’t deserve squat.” Burke’s voice dripped with contempt. “And besides, what’s left of humanity wouldn’t recognize a second chance if it jumped up and bit them in the ass. They’re dumb as stones, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Humans are parasites!” Urko interjected. “A blight on the face of the world. They need to be controlled to keep them from wiping out all civilization. Even if it means destroying every last one of them. Starting with you two.” He stumbled to one knee, breathing heavily. He pushed himself upright with a grunt.

“I think you better be worrying more about yourself, Urko.” Galen tutted from behind him. “You’re the one who’s going to be dead if you aren’t careful.”

“Silence! Lies! Lies! All you do is lie!”

“Yep, we do.” Burke smirked. “And here’s one that’ll cook your noodle. Right now, I’m lying to you. Everything I say is a lie.”

“Gah!” Urko growled at him.

Burke shrugged, chuckling.

Virdon shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Exactly how are we going to lie to you, Urko, when we aren’t even really here?”

Urko was still trying to formulate a good answer when he pitched forward into the sand, unconscious.


	8. Pretending

_Face to face and heart to heart  
We’re so close yet so far apart  
I close my eyes, I look away  
That’s just because I’m not okay_

 

 “Alan, will you get out of here and go help Gabe?” Burke urged his friend. “Sitting around watching me sleep, eat, and read has got to be like watching paint dry.”

Virdon looked up from his own reading material to eye Burke across the table where they were both sitting. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Every time I leave, you go and do something interesting.” Three days had passed since Burke’s seizure, but he wouldn’t leave his friend’s side. He tried to mask his anxiety over not being with Gabe while he worked on an interface to read the flight recorder disk, but Burke could tell Virdon was torn wanting to be in two places at once. Galen, on the other hand, had barely shown his face since the seizure.

The chimp’s absence worried Burke. “Have you talked to Galen lately, Al? Is everything okay?”

Setting his pad aside, Virdon sat forward with a sigh, leaning his elbows on the table. “Well, to be honest, I think he’s a little afraid he caused your seizure.”

Burke frowned. “But Jed explained what happened. And even he doesn’t think something like that is going to happen again.”

“And what about the headaches? And the nightmares?” Virdon had woken the last two nights to Burke shouting in his sleep as painful memories bubbled to the surface. But each time, Burke brushed off Virdon’s concern and refused to talk about what he remembered. He could only imagine all the kinds of hell the last year had been for Virdon, and he wasn’t about to burden his friend by rehashing every awful moment of it.

“Just part of the process, Jed says. It’ll all settle down eventually.” Burke tried to sound nonchalant.

“Jed also said that it would help to talk about the things you remember,” Virdon reminded him, knowing he was moving into dangerous territory.

Burke’s lips compressed into a thin line as he pushed himself out of the chair and started pacing the room. “Damn it, Alan, how many times do I have to say it? I don’t _want_ to talk about this crap. Why can’t you just let it go?”

“Okay, okay,” Virdon tried to soothe. He missed the constant presence of one of the healers to let him know when he was pushing Burke to hard. Sometimes he felt like he was walking through a minefield, unsure what was going to set off the younger man.

“Look Al, I’m not asking. I need a little space and some time alone to figure things out in my own head. And it isn’t helping that Jed’s got me confined to this damn room. So I’m telling you, go to Gabe’s workshop.” Burke stopped in front of Virdon with his arms crossed over his chest. “Go do something useful. Please.”

Now it was Virdon’s turn to frown. Jed’s reasons for confining Burke to the medical area were in part because the healer wanted to monitor him while he continued to suffer from severe headaches when the returning memories overwhelmed him. Burke was undergoing physical therapy to restore strength and function to his damaged shoulder, as well building stamina as he recovered from the rest of his injuries. But he was increasingly restless at being cooped up and frustrated with his own physical and mental limitations. Virdon was worried about leaving Burke alone; he was acting more and more out of character the last few days, his agitation and irritability growing daily. And now those irascible feelings seemed to be focused on Virdon. Maybe it _would_ do them both good if Virdon left him alone for a while.

“All right.” Virdon stood and gathered up the materials he’d been reading. “I’ll go see if I can do anything to help Gabe. Do you want me to see if Galen will come visit?”

“No!” Burke snapped. He brushed a hand across his eyes. “I mean, yeah, I’d like to see him at some point. But not right now, okay? Just give me a few hours to myself, that’s all I’m asking.”

Virdon paused to squeeze Burke’s shoulder. “Okay. Call me if you need anything. We’re here for you, Pete. We just want to help.”

Burke’s expression softened. “I know. But right now, buddy, I need a little breathing room.”

Once the door closed behind Virdon, Burke flopped on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

 

******

When the door chimed a short time later, Burke rolled his eyes before pushing himself off the bed and thumbing the door control. He was surprised to see Zeke standing in the doorway.

“Hey, Pete. Can I come in?” Zeke asked tentatively, his expression sheepish.

Burke scrubbed a hand over his face, then took a step back. “Sure, why not?” He returned to sit on the end of the bed, hugging his knees to his chest.

Zeke ducked his head and pulled a chair from table over to the bed. “How’s the physical therapy going? Jed says you are getting stronger.”

“Yeah, it’s great. Starting to feel like my old self.” He cocked a brow as the silence lingered long enough to become uncomfortable. “So, are we going to talk about the weather next? Alan sent you here, didn’t he? Or was it Jed?”

“Alan and I talked,” confessed Zeke. He sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. “He’s worried about you. But I decided to come here on my own. I’m worried about you, too.”

“If you’re so worried, where have you been the last couple of days?”

Zeke cleared his throat and found a fascinating spot on the floor to stare at. “I, uh—I’m sorry. I thought maybe it would be better if I gave you and Alan some time alone.”

“Why? So he could channel Sigmund Freud? He wants me to lay on a couch and talk about how I feel about all the shit I remember.” Burke shook his head.

“What’s so terrible about that?”

“What’s so terrible?” Burke’s voice dripped sarcasm. “I’m sorry, were you there in that subway station? Have you seen my scars? Have you seen Alan’s? Or the look on his face when he talks about his wife and son? Or about Jonesy?”

“Yes, you guys have been through some harrowing experiences in the last year, Pete. But not talking about what you remember isn’t going to make them go away or not have happened.”

“Look, I’m not going to make Alan relive them all! He doesn’t need that on top of everything else—“ Burke was shouting, his face twisted in misery. “He’s already carrying around a mountain of guilt. I know him. He feels responsible because he’s in command. I’m not gonna lay all my shit at his feet, too.”

Zeke looked Burke straight in the eye. “Alan’s not the only one carrying around guilt.”

Burke’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t try and psychobabble me.” While he trusted the angel in a way he hadn’t trusted anyone in a long time, he was still reticent to talk about his feelings with anyone.

Zeke shook his head with a wry chuckle. “Pete, I’m an empath. And right now, you’re broadcasting like a beacon. Guilt, anger, confusion, fear—good god, man, it’s a wonder you can even function with all that pain bouncing around in your head.” He moved from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed. “All I’m asking is, let me help. I can let you think about the memories without experiencing the feelings all over again. But right now, this,” he gestured with a swirling motion at Burke’s head, “isn’t working for you. If you keep bottling all this up, you aren’t going to get better.”

Burke was quiet, his face pinched and flushed. He stared at a fold of the covers as he twisted it between his hands. “Zeke, I—“ he stopped, unsure what to say. He looked up to see the soft caring on Zeke’s face and all his anger crumbled. Something about Zeke’s manner encouraged Burke to open up to him. He didn’t quite understand it, but he was going to trust his instincts. “I don’t know what to do. You’re right. I’m scared. I don’t know which of these dreams I’m having are real memories and which are just nightmares. The whole thing is like one big nightmare I can’t wake up from. ”

Zeke reached out and untangled Burke’s hands from the covers, using the contact to project calm over the torrent of emotion that battered at his mind. “So will you let me help you?”

One corner of Burke’s mouth quirked to the side. “I—yeah, I guess so.” He let out a breath he didn’t even realizing he was holding. “What do I have to do?”

“Well, first, get comfortable, this may take a while.”

Burke pushed himself up on the bed until he was stretched out on his back. Zeke pulled the chair closer so that he could rest one hand on Burke’s forehead and the other on his chest. He could feel the rapid thumping of the astronaut’s heart under his hand.

“Okay, just relax, close your eyes. Take some deep breaths and let them out slowly.” He modulate his tone to be soothing, while using his Gift to push the other man into a more relaxed state. He felt the Burke’s heartbeat slowing. “Now think about something pleasant, some memory where you were happy and peaceful.”

He skimmed into Burke’s mind, surprised at how easily the connection was established. The emotions he had felt radiating off of Burke assailed him at full strength, and he worked hard and fast to appease them, like brushing back into place a stiff coat of fur that had rubbed the wrong way. Slowly, the rough, jagged edges of Burke’s psyche smoothed into something his mind could slip through to enter deeper layers.

But instead of a fluid ribbon of memories, he found broken pieces scattered and disjointed. And each one was surrounded by a bubble of emotion wrapped tightly around it, obscuring the memory behind a swirling film. He touched one tentatively, trying to sense the event it represented.

The feelings of helplessness and grief nearly overwhelmed him, leaving him gasping before he was able to wrestle control of the emotions that swept into his own mind. Working on instinct, he drew the film away from the memory, willing it to dissipate like fog burning off in sunlight. Beneath it, he could now get a sense of the event it represented. Alan lay on a bed, a blood soaked cloth pressed to his side, an eerie echo of Pete’s own recent injury. Alan had been shot. He tossed and arched on the bed, a rictus of pain on his features.

Zeke let the memory play out while he continued to filter the emotions Pete experienced as he watched his friend’s life and death struggle. The entire ordeal flashed by in a moment, then slipped away to join Pete’s consciousness. Zeke pulled back both to give himself a chance to regroup and to make sure that Pete wasn’t unduly distressed by what had just happened. Although a hint of a frown tugged down the corners of Pete’s mouth, he was still quiet and peaceful.

Encouraged, Zeke delved deeper again and touched another fragment. Anger, grief, helplessness were prevailing themes surrounding many of the memories. Some also included reflections of physical pain. One of these revealed Pete being beaten by a large angry gorilla—Urko he presumed. Zeke touched memory after memory, stripping off the emotional shell to allow the fragment to be integrated. And while he worked, he learned a great deal about the character of Peter Burke.

He drew another fragment close and pulled away the bubble of pain surrounding it. The feelings enclosing this one were particularly intense. Physical pain, confusion, guilt, fear, other emotions that he couldn’t even characterize. But when he got past all that, the memory itself was surrounded by another dense, opaque shell. He pushed with his mind to try to penetrate the shell.

Beneath his corporeal hands, he felt Burke’s heart start to pound rapidly and the other man groaned, clearly distressed. Zeke pulled back from the encompassed memory, and Burke immediately relaxed. This memory was something that Pete was locking away, something so traumatic that even though the memory patterns had been restored, he wasn’t ready to face it yet.

As Zeke contemplated what kind of experience Pete would lock behind such an impenetrable shield, he was suddenly aware of the condition of his own body. His hands, still hovering over Pete’s head and chest, trembled with exhaustion. He felt sweat trickle down his back between his wings and tasted the salty film clinging to his upper lip. He’d pushed himself beyond his limits, and he desperately needed rest.

He gingerly withdrew from the deeper parts of Pete’s subconscious, careful to leave an aura of peace and well-being in his wake. With any luck, the other man would sleep through the night without any terrors. Zeke opened his eyes, only to be hit again with a wave of exhaustion. He doubted he could make it much further than the cot where Virdon had been sleeping. He tapped out a quick message to Virdon on his bracelet link. _Alan– Made some progress with Pete. I’ll stay here tonight to watch over him. Go get a good night’s rest yourself. ­–Zeke._

Zeke stood and stretched, pressing his hands into the small of his back until he heard a satisfying crunch. But as he turned to shuffle over to the cot, Burke grabbed his wrist. “Don’t go,” he murmured sleepily. “Please?” He shifted on the bed to make room for Zeke. “Stay?”

Zeke paused, his lips pursed as he considered the situation. This was not a good idea at all. For so many reasons. But they were both exhausted, and the Reading had left Zeke mentally and emotionally drained. He was in as much need of comfort as Burke was.

 _Just going to sleep_ , Zeke told himself. He stretched out his body next to Pete’s back. One wing hung off the side of the bed, and he brought the other along with his arm around to drape over Pete’s chest.

“Cinnamon,” Burke mumbled.

“What?”

“Wings. Smell like cinnamon.”

 _Oh hell_.

 

******

Virdon laid the tool down on the bench and sat back to view his handiwork. He and Gabriel had been collaborating most of the afternoon and evening; they were getting close to having a working interface for the disk from the _Hyperion_. Virdon’s stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he had to eat sometime.

Well, he had to admit, Burke had been right. Working with Gabe had been a welcome distraction from worrying about his friend. He looked over at where the angel was bent over his own workbench, his flaxen wings flexing slightly as he concentrated on the components in front of him. Gabe had told him that he believed the data on the disk was intact. Like many of the angels, he also had a Gift, to manipulate electronic and computer equipment—a technopath, he called himself.

“Hey Gabe, can you double check this?” Virdon had read about all the advances in electronics since his time, but he still wanted confirmation that he was applying all that knowledge correctly.

“Sure, Alan.” He leaned over Virdon’s shoulder and put a hand on the equipment. “Yes, that’s very good.” He clapped him on the back. “Nicely done. I think you’ve got the hang of it.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, it’s getting late and I’m calling it a day. Will you be back tomorrow?”

“I’ll try. Do you think it’s close to being ready?”

“Yes, we can probably test it tomorrow.”

Virdon’s brows lifted. “Really? That’s great. Then yes, I’ll be back. I’m sure Pete won’t mind.” _Especially since he basically kicked me out today,_ he thought wryly.

The bracelet encircling Virdon’s wrist beeped, and he turned it so he could see the small screen embedded in the surface. Zeke’s message displayed when he touched the screen in acknowledgement. Virdon had stopped to talk to Zeke after leaving Burke’s quarters, to vent his concern and frustration over the other man’s characteristic reticence. Getting Burke to talk about his feelings had always been a battle, as the NASA psychologists had warned in their reports. In fact, his psychological evaluation had come close to disqualifying Burke for the _Hyperion_ mission. But Virdon, as the commanding officer, had overridden their concerns. Burke was too inspired a pilot, the best in the program, for Virdon to allow him to be grounded. Although he didn’t regret that decision, Burke’s foibles did keep him on his toes.

He returned his attention to Gabe, who was cleaning up, and wished him a good night before heading out the door. Checking Galen’s location, he found that the chimp was back in their shared quarters. Good.

Pushing a button on the bracelet, he raised his wrist slightly. “Galen?”

After a moment’s hesitation, the chimp’s voice answered. “Yes, Alan?”

“I’m on my way back. Have you eaten yet?”

“I’m just making some food now. Would you like me to wait for you?”

“If you don’t mind. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” He entered the lift and tapped a button to ascend a few floors.

“That’s wonderful. I have so much to tell you. See you shortly.” Virdon could hear the excitement in his friend’s voice.

He was grateful that Galen seemed to have gotten over his fears about the Albans. Zeke and Mal had masterfully appealed to Galen’s curiosity and scholarly nature by granting him access to their library and the aid of Elias, one of their historians. So enraptured by the wealth of information, Galen had even forgotten to scoff at Virdon and demand to know what “hog heaven” meant.

Now if he could just figure out what to do about Burke. Despite all the possibilities that the Alban’s advanced technology offered to him and his friends, Virdon felt disjointed, out of sync with his friend. They’d been in each other’s back pockets for so long, first during their training for the mission, when they could finish each other’s sentences. Virdon used to joke during that time that if Pete ate Mexican food, he got gas from it. And then by necessity, they had relied on each other—and on Galen—more than ever during the last year because their survival depended on it.

Now he felt like that closeness was evaporating. At best, his conversations with Burke these days were shallow and superficial, just when there were so many things he wanted to talk to him about. Part of that rift was due to the amnesia, but there was something more to it that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but he felt like he was losing his friend all over again.

He found himself outside his quarters and thumbed open the door. Inside, Galen was setting out food on the table. Virdon smirked. _Guess it’s vegetarian tonight._ Although, if he was being honest with himself, even though meat was an option again, he found himself abstaining from it more often than not. _Well, at least my arteries should all be in good shape from that and all the exercise._ The docs back home would be so pleased.

“That smells fantastic, Galen. I’m starved.” He slid into one of the chairs.

“Me, too,” Galen replied, sitting down. “I was so busy reading, I lost all track of time.”

“What did you find that has you so fired up?” Virdon asked as he served himself and started eating.

“Elias showed me some of the early history of the city.” He took a bite and chewed, lost in thought for a moment. “There used to be a large city where the desert above us is now, called ‘Alba-ker-key’.”

Virdon chuckled. “Albuquerque, in a state called New Mexico. Yes, I visited it once.”

“Hmm, really? What was it like in your time?”

He thought back to the trip to Albuquerque, on a mission to test a new aircraft at Kirtland Air Force Base. “Busy, crowded with people and cars. A lot of very tall buildings surrounded by a lot of houses. Like any other big city, I guess. Except very hot and very dry. It was pretty much a desert back then, too, except now there aren’t people up there trying to make it green and livable.”

“Well, the founders of Alba were a group of scientists who studied human biology. They created the angels because they wanted to give humans the ability to fly. But they wanted to be able to control the population, so that’s why they made them herm… herm…”

“Hermaphrodites.” Virdon supplied.

“Yes,” he waved a finger at Virdon, as he gestured animatedly. “Not only that, but they made the angels so that they can only bear children when they are impregnated by human males—Alan! Are you all right?”

Virdon coughed, trying to dislodge the food he had choked on, as he turned interesting shades of red. Pounded his chest, he reached for the glass in front of him and took a long drink. He cleared his throat a few times, trying to quell residual coughing. When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that reproductive habits aren’t usually considered polite dinner conversation, Galen.”

Galen tilted his head to one side. “But you’ve talked about the biology of farm animals on several occasions during meals. When we were at Polar’s farm—“

Virdon held up a hand to interrupt. “That’s different, Galen. That wasn’t discussing the biology and reproductive habits of _people_.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, Alan. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m not _upset_ , it’s just… give me a little warning next time.”

“All right.” Galen ducked his head. “But have you noticed anything unusual about the structure of their society?”

“What do you mean?” Virdon hesitantly resumed eating.

“The way they mate…that is, their long-term relationships,” he corrected when Virdon gave him a dour look. “Some of the human males form mated pairs with both a human female and an angel. This triad is considered the pinnacle of relationships.”

“Yeah, that’s interesting. Not surprising that with a hermaphroditic species thrown into the mix, they’ve developed a different societal model,” Virdon reasoned.

“Yes, it’s fascinating. The adaptability of humans continues to astound me.”

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes, then Virdon remembered his conversation with Burke.

“Um, Galen, Pete brought up that he’d like you to come visit him soon. He’s wondering where you’ve been.”

Galen looked down at his plate. “Well, I…I’ve just been so busy in the library. I didn’t mean to neglect him.”

“It’s okay, Galen. But he’s remembering more and more every day, I’m sure of it. He wants to see you.”

“I’ll make some time to go see him tomorrow. You’re sure it’s a good idea, though? He won’t—“ Galen was still worried that Burke would have another bad reaction to his presence.

“No, he won’t. Jed’s sure of that. I think it’ll do you both some good.” _And maybe you can get him to open up, since I can’t seem to._


	9. The Monster Is Loose

_I've lived a thousand years in darkness  
Banished all alone  
Inside my mind with just my madness  
Behind these walls of stone ****_

Urko woke to the feeling of furry hands wetting him down with cool water. His leather uniform had been removed and replaced with a soft fabric robe. His eyes felt gummy and scratchy, and when he tried to raise his head, he fell back weakly.

Simian faces swam into view, and he sighed with relief to be back among his own kind. But he didn’t notice the small differences. Their brow ridges were more pronounced than on the gorillas Urko knew, and their jaws jutted out further, giving their muzzles odd egg-shapes. When they spoke to each other, long, sharp canine teeth bristled in their mouths. The words they spoke sounded strange in Urko’s ears, heavily accented almost to the point of being unrecognizable.

When they finished washing him, they rubbed musky scented oil into his fur. One of them raised his shoulders while another pressed a cup of cool water to his mouth and encouraged him to drink. He rested comfortably for a time.

They called him “Shulmanu.” He heard them murmuring, almost like a chant, until the buzzing in his head became too much to bear. With a growl, he pushed himself up from the bed, despite the vertigo triggered by the sudden movement.

“Who are you? What do you want with me?” he demanded.

“We want nothing, Shulmanu,” answered a large gorilla with a tuft of silver fur centered above his eyes, who bowed obsequiously, “but to serve you.”

“Who is this ‘Shul-ma-nu’? My name is Oor-koe.” He pronounced it very slowly, as if trying to teach a small child.

“Yes, Shulmanu. The Prophecy says that the Shulmanu would be found wandering in the desert, with the blood marks on his hands.” He held up Urko’s blood soaked gloves. “We found you not far from here, near death. The Shulmanu will save us, lead us to Paradise.”

Urko’s eyes narrowed in thought. These apes wanted to make him their leader. He could turn this to his advantage. “Tell me, friend, what is your name?”

“I am Grul, Shulmanu. I am the Keeper of the Prophecy.”

“Well, Grul, tell me more of this prophecy.”

“You must rest now, you are still very weak. Later, we will meet in the circle, and talk about Prophecy.” Grul bowed again, the others mirroring him. Then they all withdrew into the shadows, leaving Urko to flop heavily back onto the bed as exhaustion claimed him.

 

******

When he woke again, Urko was alone in a large circular tent. The curved walls were a latticework of narrow wooden strips, which supported rafters like spokes that fit into a center wheel in the roof. Canvas covered the entire structure, except for a lighter flap that fluttered over a gap in the lattice wall. The rugs covering the ground were soft under his bare feet, but he could feel sand shifting beneath them. He barely moved more than a couple of feet from the bed when the doorway was pushed aside to admit two gorillas. Grul carried a bowl held reverently in front of him and behind him the other gorilla carried a tray covered with food.

“You look better rested, Shulmanu. We brought food. Are you hungry?”

“Yes.” Urko sniffed the air as a strange scent assailed him. When the second gorilla came closer, he recognized the food on the tray as cooked meat. His nose wrinkled in revulsion at the sight of the strips of flesh, some of them still oozing bloody juices.

“What is this?” he growled his disgust.

“I’m sorry, Shulmanu. It’s only goat, the best we could do right now. Prey has been scarce lately.”

“It’s meat! Only humans eat meat!” He shook his fist at them.

Grul made a grunting noise. “But we have always eaten meat. Anything else twists the stomach. The hairless ones will eat anything, and it makes them weak.”

Urko turned the idea over in his head. He knew of some apes who ate animal products; eggs, milk, even fish. One of marks of the superiority of ape over human was their unwillingness to kill animals just to eat their flesh. But his trip through the desert had changed him, made him realize that the apes he knew _were_ weak. And if he were going to become stronger, maybe he needed to turn his back on some of their ways.

“Bring it here.”

The gorilla brought the tray forward and dropped to one knee while lifting the tray high in front of him. Urko reach out and picked up a strip of meat between two fingers. He glanced at Grul, who nodded encouragement.

He pushed the meat into this mouth, dribbling greasy juices down his chin. The taste of it on his tongue was tangy and slippery with a metallic undertone. He bit down carefully and felt his teeth sink in, the flesh ripping and grinding between his powerful jaws. Strange as the flavor and texture were, he found himself enjoying it. He chewed slowly as the others watched him anxiously for a sign of approval. After swallowing, he licked the grease from his lips.

“It’s good.”

Grul and his assistant sighed, then Grul beckoned toward Urko with the bowl he still held. “Would you like some drink as well?”

Emboldened by his newfound tastes, Urko reached for the bowl and drank deeply from it without even asking what it contained. The coppery taste of blood flooded his mouth, mixed with the sharp bite of some sort of fermented juice. When he finished, he wiped his arm across his mouth and made a noise of appreciation. He handed the bowl back to Grul and reached for another slice of meat, his face split in a feral-looking leer.

“What is this place, Grul? Tell me about your people. Do any humans live among you?” Urko asked as he chewed. If he was going to lead these apes, he wanted to know everything about them.

“Humans?” Grul scoffed. “Of course not, Shulmanu.”

Urko’s head snapped up. “So only apes live here.”

“Yes, we are the _Rephaim_. This place is one of our villages, although we’ll move it in a few months. Do you feel well enough to go tour the village, Shulmanu? The people would be happy to see who the desert has delivered to lead us.”

Urko nodded. “Yes. But not in these robes.” He plucked at the yellow fabric swathing him. “I need suitable clothing.”

“Of course. Your leather uniform is too hot for our climate, but Misha here,” he gestured to the other gorilla, who put the tray of food on a table, “will fetch something for you.” Misha bowed and backed out of the tent.

“So Grul,” Urko pressed as he chewed on another strip of meat, “you said you would tell more of this prophecy.”

“Tonight, Shulmanu. We will have a feast to celebrate your arrival. I will tell the Prophecy for all to hear, so they may know the rightfulness of your place among us.”

Misha returned with a bundle of pale yellow clothing. The pants and tunic were embroidered with red symbols that Urko didn’t know the meaning of, assuming they had any meaning other than decoration. Over his head, they placed a hooded cap that draped down the back and sides of his head to protect him from the sun. The boots were made of soft leather he had never seen before, lighter and more supple than his heavy boots, making it easier to walk in the shifting sand.

They emerged from the tent into the late afternoon sun, throwing long shadows ahead of them as they walked among more of the round, conical-topped tents, some of them thirty feet or more in diameter. Everywhere they went, they saw gorillas engaged in the tedious daily chores required in a pre-industrial world. Males tended livestock or scraped at hides stretched on frames. The females tended cooking fires or sat around in groups weaving colorful cloth or sewing clothing. Gorilla children chased each other between and around the women, until one or another of the mothers would cuff one of them and tell them to go play elsewhere.

As Grul and Urko passed, with Misha trailing behind subserviently, the gorillas paused in their chores and raised their heads to stare at Urko. Whispers erupted in their wake; the only word that Urko could hear clearly was “Shulmanu”.

In the center of the village, a large fire pit was surrounded by a wide ring of empty sand, which Grul explained was where the people gathered for village-wide meetings and celebrations. Tonight, Urko would be the guest of honor and sit at the head table. Misha, he was told, was honored to be offered to the Shulmanu as an attendant, if he would have him. Urko agreed, prompting Misha to fall to his knees in the sand and pledge his life to the Shulmanu.

Grul insisted that Urko return to his tent to rest before the night’s ceremony. There were ritual preparations to be observed in making Urko ready for the evening’s festivities. He eyed them both with a narrow, suspicious stare, but agreed.

 

******

Misha brushed out Urko’s fur and then rubbed on more of the musky oil, working it into his coat and down to the skin with a brisk massaging motion. Urko sat still, enduring these ministrations with a foul mood. As part of the preparation, Misha gave him another fermented juice drink; this one had a bitter aftertaste rather than the metallic tang of blood like the previous drink. After a while, Urko felt his temper slipping away. The walls of the tent began to expand and contract, almost like being inside a giant lung. Every crackle and pop of the fire in the brazier that beat back the cold of the desert night echoed through his brain like gunfire. When Misha brought him a fresh set of clothes, he ran his fingers over the beads and small bones sewn to the crimson fabric, marveling in the different textures. From the neckline of the tunic dangled large black feathers longer than his hand. He turned one of them over and over as it shimmered hints of deep blues and purples in the reflected firelight. The whisper of the silky fabric pulling over his head felt like a caress; every hair of his fur stood on end at the sensation.

When Grul led Urko back to the fire circle, he followed docilely, but his shaggy head swung back and forth, taking in every sound, every sight, every motion, each so clear and sharp that he was sure he could hear the individual rubbing of each insect wing that hummed in the night air. He turned his face into the cool breeze that fluttered the doorways of the tents as they passed, making the canvas snap as it furled. Above his head, the stars shone like bright diamonds in the cloudless desert sky.

And then they were inside the circle of gorillas, hundreds of them bowing down to touch their foreheads to the sand. In the center of the circle, a carcass was lashed to a spit, sizzling above a bed of glowing coals. It took a moment for Urko to distinguish the arms pulled tight above the headless neck and the legs twisted together below the gutted body of what had once been an adult human, probably male. A week ago, he would have been nauseated by the smell of the cooking human flesh, but that was the old, weak Urko. Before the desert had tempered him into something new, into a better, stronger ape, into… Shulmanu. Now he just nodded his approval to Grul.

Misha touched his elbow to steer him toward a low table set in the sand near the fire and surrounded by large cushions. A few of the cushions were already occupied by older gorillas who bowed their heads at his approach. Urko thought they must be the tribal elders. He emulated their cross-legged postures as he sat on the cushion Misha offered to him.

The crowd of gorillas raised themselves from groveling in the sand as a quiet chanting slowly grew in intensity among them.

“Shul-ma-nu.”

“Shul-ma-nu.”

“Shul-ma-nu.”

Grul paced before the gathering, looking strange in his own adornments of beads, bones, and feathers. He spurred them on, waving his hand up and down to encourage the chanting in volume and pace.

“Shulmanu, Shulmanu, Shulmanu.”

Urko raised his arm to wave, his head bobbing up and down in time to the chant. The elders clapped him on the back.

“ShulmanuShulmanuShulmanu.”

When Grul threw up his arms in front of the crowd, silence descended quickly. He raised his face to the crystalline desert sky, his eyes closed for a moment before he began to speak.

 _“In the beginning, the Rephaim and the Anakim lived together in Paradise in harmony with the Emim, who claimed dominion over all they saw. But over the years, the Emim came to love the Anakim above the Rephaim, for the Anakim pleased the Emim like no others. Then came the Great Tribulation, when the Sun descended to Earth and burned the land above Paradise, and any that it touched died. The Emim and the Anakim wailed over the Desecration, but their sorrow was false, for they still had Paradise._

 _“But Paradise could not hold them all, so the Anakim spoke sweetly into the ears of the Emim and hardened their hearts further against the Rephaim. And when the eyes of the Emim had been thrown into Shadow by the Anakim, they expelled the Rephaim from Paradise into the Desecration above._

 _“The Rephaim cried out, wanting to know how they had displeased the Emim, but the Anakim had so ensorcelled the Emim that they did not hear the misery of their children._

 _“For many years, the Rephaim lived in the heart of the Desecration, and many died of sickness and hunger, for the Desecration was still barren and desolate. Then slowly, the Rephaim forgot much of their old ways and learned new ways. They began to wander, finding the places in the Desecration where life could thrive once more._

 _“Then a child was born among the Rephaim, with fur pale as bone and eyes like blood. Many feared the child as a bad omen, and the elders decreed that he must be sacrificed to the Desecration to keep the Rephaim from being tainted by the child’s curse. They took him to the heart of the Desecration and left him. But when the elders returned after three days, the child still lived, despite having no water, no food, no shelter._

 _“The elders shook their heads in wonder, but turned their faces from the child and again left him there. And when they returned three days later, the child not only lived but had grown as if a hand of years had passed. And the child had befriended a fearsome Kai-uotaim, who snapped and barked when they tried to approach. Again they shook their heads in wonder, but turned their faces from the child. And again they returned three days later._

 _“At first they thought the child had finally perished, for there was no sign, but then he stepped from the ruins of the Desecration as a grown ape, the Kai-uotaim at his side. He was called Botis, and he carried a message for the Rephaim. ‘Behold,’ cried Botis, ‘for I hold the key to Paradise before you.’_

 _“’When the time to regain Paradise is at hand,’ he told them, ‘the desert will deliver the Shulmanu, who will be of the Rephaim but not of the Rephaim. The Shulmanu will travel through the Desecration from far away. He will bear the blood of his enemies on his hands. He will not know the ways of the Rephaim, so you must teach him. But he will know the ways of war, and he will lead the Rephaim into battle against the Emim and the Anakim. The Rephaim will drive them from Paradise and regain their rightful place.’ The elders questioned him, asking how long it would be until the Shulmanu arrived, but he turned from them and spoke no more. He tugged on the fur of the Kai-uotaim, and together, they walked deeper into the Desecration.”_

“Thus ends the First Prophecy of Botis.”


	10. For The Needs Of The One

_You were there for those reasons uncounted  
Through all trials by me you did stand  
I was difficult, silent, and stubborn  
And I wish I could now take reach your hand_

 

Zeke woke the next morning with Burke’s face mashed into his shoulder, a small wet circle dampening his shirt where Burke had drooled in his sleep. Burke shifted, bringing a hand to rest nestled in the feathers of Zeke’s wing. The angel was still trying to find a way to extricate himself without waking the other man, when Burke pulled his head back and his eyes popped open.

“Hey, Pete,” Zeke murmured, smiling. “Good morning.”

“Hey.” Burke blinked owlishly. He realized that his hand was absently combing through the feathers and pulled it away with a start. “Morning.” He rolled away from Zeke and pushed himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. He glanced back over his shoulder. “So how did the Vulcan mind meld last night go?”

Zeke noticed Burke’s stiff back, the hands clenched white-knuckled on the edge of the bed. He rolled to his feet on the other side. “You tell me. How do you feel?”

“Just great,” Burke replied with forced enthusiasm, then jumped off the bed and dashed toward the bathroom. “Nature calls,” he tossed over his shoulder as an explanation before disappearing behind the closed door. Zeke watched his retreating back with a frown, confused over what had just happened.

Burke leaned back against the cool metal of the wall, trying to quiet his rapidly thumping heart and still his shaking hands. He went to the sink and spun the temperature control to cold. After splashing a couple of handfuls of icy water onto his face, he leaned over the sink, watching the water drip from his chin and nose.

 _What the hell am I doing?_ He wasn’t sure why he had asked Zeke to sleep next to him last night, except it was the first night he hadn’t woken in the grip of a nightmare. He _did_ feel better this morning, less edgy, less like his veneer of calm control was going to crack open at any moment. Except now he had this strange flutter in his stomach that shot straight down to his groin.

He stripped off his clothes and put them in the refresher to be cleaned, then stepped into the shower. The hot water sprayed over him automatically; quickly he reached over to flip the temperature control as cold as it would go. He yelped when the spray turned frigid but forced himself to stand under it, hands splayed out on the wall, until his teeth started to chatter. He rubbed a hand over his face to clear the water out of his eyes, then slowly turned the temperature warmer again before starting to wash.

It wasn’t until he was getting redressed that he heard the quick tap on the door and Zeke call quietly, “Pete? You okay in there?”

“Yeah,” he called. “Be out in a minute.” He looked at his reflection in the mirror and raked his fingers through still wet hair to push it into some semblance of order. He finished his other morning ablutions quickly and opened the door.

Zeke was sitting at the table, looking over an electronic pad. He looked up and smiled. Burke’s stomach started doing somersaults again.

“Shower’s free,” Burke said in a rush, before it occurred to him that Zeke might want to go back to his own quarters to refresh himself. But part of him didn’t want to lose the angel’s company so soon. “That is, if you want to use it. Feel free.”

“Yeah, I think I will. Thanks.” He stood and flexed his wings. “Hey, after that, how’d you like to bust out of here for a while?”

Burke blinked. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, I already cleared it with Jed.” He held up a hand as a look of concern crossed his face. “If you feel up to it.”

“Are you kidding me?” Burke’s face lit up and he gave easy laugh. “Yes! Yes, I’d love to get out of here. Where can we go?”

“I have a few places in mind that I’d like to show you.”

“Well, in that case, hurry up and get your ass in the shower already.”

Now it was Zeke’s turn to laugh. “Okay, I’ll be quick.” He pointed to a pile of clothes on the bed. “I got you something more appropriate to wear, if you want to change.” He picked up a matching heap and went into the bathroom.

Burke picked up the items, which turned out to be a sleeveless shirt and a pair of tailored pants, both made of something that felt like thin, supple leather. Beneath them was a pair of soft-soled shoes. He quickly changed from the pajama-like outfit he’d been wearing since he’d woken. The new clothes fit closely, reminding him of the flight suits they had worn while on the ship. He was trying to figure out the fasteners on the shoes when Zeke emerged, dressed in a matching outfit.

“Shoes.” Burke smirked. “Who’d’a thought they’d be so difficult?”

“Here, let me help.” Zeke knelt down and pulled the adjusting straps snug, then slipped the ends into the magnetic bindings.

“Thanks.” Burke stood, practically jumping out of his skin in anticipation. “So, we’re going now, right? Where to?”

“I know just the place. But first, breakfast. Let’s go.”

 

******

Zeke stopped at a servitor as they passed through the main part of the medical bay and ordered two pastries, which they ate while they walked. Well, Zeke ate, wolfing his down in a couple of bites. Burke was so busy rubbernecking, he forgot about the food in his hand until Zeke reminded him. He finished it just as they walked into view of the city’s central shaft.

“Whoa!” Burke exclaimed, his eyes wide at the sight before him. “I mean, Alan told me about the layout of the city, but it’s another thing to see it first hand.” He walked right up to the edge of the platform that jutted out into the open space, craning his neck to look up and down. One thing being a pilot and an astronaut guaranteed—he had no fear of heights.

“Yeah, well, you’re about to experience it in a way I don’t think even Alan has yet.” Zeke stepped up behind Burke and wrapped his arms around the other man’s chest just under his armpits, crossing them in front. He unfurled his wings and began to move them up and down, building momentum. “Ready?”

“Hell yeah!” Burke cried out when he realized what Zeke was about to do.

“Just relax. Grab my waist if you need to.” Zeke said softly in his ear. As the strokes of his wings grew powerful enough to lift them into the air, he bent his knees and leapt forward, pushing them off of the platform and into the open air.

Burke’s first whoop as they moved out over the vast expanse of the chasm came out sounding a bit more like a yelp, as he scrabbled to reach behind him and clamp his hands on Zeke’s hips. But soon he was laughing at the pure joy of flying as Zeke circled in a slow climb upward.

It wasn’t the same as flying in a jet, of course, where he was moving at supersonic speeds and the slightest touch on the joystick would maneuver the plane almost as if it was responding directly to his will. And even though the panoramic view afforded by a plane cockpit always took his breath away, there was still glass and steel between him and the open air. This… this was more like sky diving in reverse. They weren’t moving as fast, but it was enough to make the wind whistle past his face and ruffle his hair. And if he closed his eyes, he could almost feel like he was floating.

After a few more minutes, he relaxed even more, confident that the iron band of Zeke’s arms across his chest would keep him safe. He unclenched his grip on Zeke’s clothing and slowly lifted his arms out from his sides, like he was soaring under his own power.

“This okay?” he asked Zeke, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the wind.

“Yeah,” Zeke replied. Burke laughed again, but was suddenly conscious of Zeke’s warm breath on his neck as the angel’s exertions caused his lungs to work harder.

Burke looked down at the chasm yawning beneath his feet, dwindling out of sight into shadow. He felt the feathers of Zeke’s wings brush his fingertips as they swept down in powerful strokes to drive them upward. They passed other angels traversing the shaft, some gliding down like giant birds of prey soaring on outstretched wings. Others were also climbing, and he watched in fascination the movement of wings and back muscles, matching the dip and surge of their own flight. Around the edges of the shaft, tunnel openings and landing platforms flashed by as they spiraled further and further upward.

When the light surrounding them grew brighter, Burke looked up, noticing for the first time the lattice of metal and glass spanning the chasm above them. The metal formed a dome of connecting triangles sloping gently to an apex above the shaft. Then they passed the last level of the subterranean city, and the vista beneath the dome opened up around them.

Burke’s gasp at the verdant landscape that stretched out around the opening of the central shaft brought a chuckle from Zeke. He angled over the solid ground and gently lowered them onto the grass. After releasing his hold around Burke’s chest, he held onto the other man’s arms until he was sure that Burke was steady on his feet.

Burke spun around, a huge grin on his face, and grabbed Zeke’s arms in return. “Holy crap, Zeke, that was incredible.”

“I’m glad you… enjoyed that,” Zeke replied breathlessly. He bent over slightly, resting his hand on his thighs as he tried to catch his breath.

“Geez, you okay?”

“Yeah. Just not used… to carrying… someone else… so high. Give me a sec.”

While Zeke recovered, Burke turned in a circle to look at the lush garden where they had alighted. The area immediately around them was covered with grass and ringed with tall trees a few dozen yards away from the small wall that delineated the edge of the chasm. Paths wound through the dense undergrowth of shrubs and flower beds, but Burke couldn’t see how far the area extended away from the center. Somewhere in the distance, the overhead dome curved down to meet the ground.

When his breathing calmed after a few moments, Zeke asked, “So, what do you think?”

Burke’s grin had not faded. “Amazing. Is that really the surface on the other side of that glass?” He pointed to the dome overhead.

“Transparent aluminum, actually. Not glass. Yes, that’s the outside. C’mon.” He grabbed Burke’s arm and tugged him deeper into the gardens.

They walked along a path in silence for several minutes until they came up short facing a rock wall with a metal staircase scaling along its surface.

“After you,” Zeke waved Burke ahead of him, and they both started to climb.

“Where are we going?” Burke asked, turning to see Zeke a couple of treads behind him.

“You’ll see.”

By the time the reached the top of stairs, Burke was winded. He looked out over the trees; they were higher than the tops of the nearest ones, but the green canopy rose above them closer to the center, where the dome was higher. A light touch on his arm steered Burke to turn back toward the wall. They walked through a gap in a railing that ran along the edge of the wall. About fifteen or twenty feet of clear, flat space on the top of the wall separated the railing from where the dome met the wall.

The round metal poles driven into the cement of the wall were thicker than Burke’s thigh. They formed a geodesic pattern filled with plates of transparent aluminum, giving a panoramic view of the desert outside. Burke pressed a hand up to the smooth surface, expecting it to be hot from the unrelenting sun, but it was cool. He pressed his face close and peered out across the sand.

“This wall used to be patrolled by sentries, but now we have security cameras that watch the perimeter for any dangers. Not that there has been any sort of threat to the city from the outside in a long time. The other advantage of the aluminum, besides being much stronger than glass, is that it also protects against residual radiation. But the radiation levels dropped below anything dangerous a long time ago. We could even go outside now, if we wanted to.”

“What about the city? Albuquerque. Can you see it from here?” Burke’s voice grew soft. “Or I guess what’s left of it.”

“Yeah,” Zeke laid a hand on Burke’s back and pointed at an angle out the window. “To the southeast. If you know what to look for, you can just make out the ruins.”

“Eh, I always hated Albuquerque anyway.” He gave Zeke a half-hearted smirk. “Too damn hot. Especially out on the Base…” his voice trailed off. “That’s it, Zeke!”

“That’s what? What is it?”

“Kirtland!” He turned and grabbed Zeke into a hug. “Kirtland Air Force Base! I have to talk to Alan!”

 

******

Virdon thumbed the chime on the door outside of Burke’s room. When there was no answer, he considered for a moment and then hit the control to open the door. Maybe his friend was still asleep. He peeked inside the open door, surprised to see an empty bed.

“Pete?” he called, walking into the room. He went over to the bathroom door, but it was opened and unoccupied. For a moment, panic tightened his throat as he imagined something terrible happening that required moving Burke somewhere else in the medical center.

He stabbed a button on his bracelet link. “Jed?”

“Yes, Alan?” came the quick reply.

“Do you know where Pete is? He’s not in his room.”

“He went out with Zeke.”

“Out? Out where?” His mouth tightened into a thin line.

“Hang on.” Pause. “They are up in the arboretum.” Jed’s voice sounded disapproving.

“Oh.” He pushed down the feeling that he’d just been ditched, trying to focus on being glad that Burke was well enough to leave the medical area finally. “Thanks, Jed,” he signed off absently. Well, he had hoped that Burke would be present when Gabe’s device was ready to decode the data on the flight recorder, but it seemed unlikely now. He left the empty room with slumped shoulders and made his way to Gabe’s workshop.

By the time he got there, his melancholy mood from the previous evening had returned and a slow anger simmered beneath it. Burke had made it clear from day one that he didn’t share Virdon’s hope that they would some day return home, but he had always supported his commanding officer in their quest. The younger man had thought that returning to the ship for the flight recorder disk was a senseless risk—that even _if_ they could find a computer to read it, and even _if_ the information on it revealed a way for them to return home, they _still_ needed to find a working ship that could be launched and make the journey back through space and time. In other words, according to Burke, they had a better chance of finding a taco stand by the side of a dusty country road—and they were _all_ dusty country roads here.

But Burke had stuck by him when Virdon refused to give up on returning to his family. Through thick and thin, whether out of a sense of duty or just steadfast loyalty or _whatever_ motivation drove his enigmatic friend, they’d sworn to stick together to the end.

And it had almost gotten Burke killed. Hell, it _had_ gotten him killed, if Virdon was willing to face the bitter truth, and it was only by the grace of the Albans that he was walking around now. Virdon’s anger evaporated under that cold dash of reality. Maybe it was time to release Burke from this obligation, if Virdon could knock some sense into that thick head of his. Here, he’d be safe. Here, he’d have a chance to find happiness, to get on with the business of actually living. Virdon thought back to what Galen had told him last night about Alban society. Maybe…

“Everything all right, Alan?” Gabe clapped him on the back, startling him out of his reverie. He realized he’d been staring at the same component the whole time.

“Yeah, just woolgathering.” He noticed Gabe’s confused expression. “Daydreaming. Sorry, I’ve got a lot on my mind recently.”

“I understand. How is Pete doing?” Gabe had been on the rescue team that had come to Las Vegas, and he’d seen Burke’s condition when they arrived.

“Getting better. He’s well enough that Jed let him go to the arboretum with Zeke this morning.” His smile was only a little forced.

“Oh?” Gabe raised an eyebrow, a strange expression flitting across his face. “That… that’s great. Sounds like he’s recovered, then.” A momentary pause stretched into a longer silence. Finally, Gabe shrugged and seemed to remember what he was talking about. “Well, if we can get these final components assembled, we should be able to give it a go this afternoon to try to read your disk.”

The angel started to turn back toward his work.

“Gabe? Are you… married?” Virdon asked hesitantly. He didn’t want to offend, but he had questions about some of the things Galen had told him last night, that he’d read further about after their dinner conversation. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

Gabe turned back to Virdon, a look of relief washing across his features. “I don’t mind. Yeah, I am. I’m sure our ways must seem very strange to you.”

Virdon chuckled. “No stranger than any of about a dozen other things I’ve seen in the last year.” He opened his mouth to ask something more when the door to the workshop opened. Burke rushed in, trailed closely by Zeke.

“Alan!” Burke veered around a couple of tables and grabbed Virdon by both arms, pulling him upright. “Alan, buddy boy, you are about to want to kiss me. Kirtland! Kirtland Air Force Base! I can’t believe neither of us thought of it earlier!”

“Whoa, slow down, Pete.” Virdon’s confusion was mixed with concern over the way his friend was huffing and puffing, his face flushed with recent exertion. “What’d you do, run here? Sit down.” He hooked a foot around the stool he had just vacated and pushed Burke toward it.

“I’m fine. Listen to me, will ya?”  He batted away Virdon’s hand when the older man reached out to feel for his pulse on his wrist. From behind Burke, Zeke pushed him down onto the stool, his hands keeping a grip on the other man’s shoulders. “Kirtland. It’s not that far away.”

“Yeah, I was just mentioning it to Galen last night. What about it?”

“Alan,” Burke squeaked in his excitement, “don’t you remember what they used Kirtland for? Maybe not, I don’t think you spent as much time there as I did. Before the _Icarus_ missions,” he babbled, the words starting to blend together, “it’s where they developed and tested the drive. The Hasslein drive on the ship. The FTL drive! This sounding familiar at all?”

Virdon’s brow furrowed together. “Wait a minute. The ship’s test flights were done in orbit.”

“The ship, yes. But the _drive_ was developed at Kirtland. All the research, all the prototypes, all the theoretical testing—it was all done there. It’s worth taking a look, Al!”

“Okay, okay.” Virdon raked a hand over his face as his eyes lit up with Burke’s infectious excitement. “Now that you mention it, I remember hearing about that. I think you’re right. It’s a great idea.” He looked over Burke’s head, where Zeke was still standing with his hands on Burke’s shoulders. “What do you think Zeke, could we make it there? It’s a few miles southeast of the city.”

“It’s possible. We are northwest of the city ruins, about twenty miles or so. But you’d have to go through the city, and there are many dangers in the ruins. It’d take some serious planning.”

“All right. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Virdon reined in his own enthusiasm. “We still need to get the information off the flight recorder first.” He raised a brow at Burke. “Gabe says we’re going to be ready to try this afternoon. You going to be here for that? Or do you have more sightseeing to do?”

“Of course I wanna be here, Alan. What the hell kind of question is that?” Despite his bluster, Burke’s shoulders were trembling under Zeke’s hands.

Virdon rubbed his forehead. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s still going to be a while. I’ll call you when we’re ready. You look like you could use a rest.” He gave Burke a wry smile. “And it’ll give me time to pull my foot out of my mouth.”

Burke stood and thumped his friend on the back. “It’s okay. I haven’t exactly been a barrel of laughs lately either.” He swayed for a moment on his feet, and both Zeke and Virdon reached out to steady him. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Think I’ll go have a little lie down. Call me, okay?”

“Yeah. Take care of him for me, Zeke, will ya?”

Zeke nodded. “I’ll make sure he rests.”

“Hey, remember me? Still here,” Burke protested weakly, as Zeke steered him toward the door, a hand clamped firmly on one arm.

“Yeah, you’re here… barely,” said Zeke as Burke leaned up against the wall in the hallway, his eyes closed. “Good thing the medical center isn’t far.”

Burke frowned, shaking his head. “Back to prison? C’mon warden, I thought I was paroled. Or at least got time off for good behavior.”

“I told you I could only spring you for a little while. Let Jed take a look at you this afternoon—maybe he’ll clear you to leave for good.” He raised a finger under Burke’s nose. “ _If_ —and I get the feeling that’s a big _if_ where you are concerned—you can behave yourself and take it easy, I’ll see what I can do about getting you moved to real quarters.”

“Thanks, pal.” Burke smiled wanly. “And thanks for this morning. It was great.”


	11. Rolling In The Deep

_Finally I can see you crystal clear  
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare  
See how I'll leave with every piece of you  
Don't underestimate the things that I will do _

 

Galen loved learning. He remembered fondly the hours spent in libraries, first at his parent’s house, then at university. The faintly acrid smell of the scrolls, the feel of the crisp, smooth parchment, the slight resistance of a scroll when it was unrolled. Even better were the old books that he’d been allowed to examine as an honors student. Tomes bound in leather and wood with fragile spines that cracked when they were opened and paper pages that rustled and whispered when they were turned.

More than regular meals, a warm bed, and an absence of the constant fear of being hunted, what he missed most about his old life was the chance to just sit and read.

Although the library at Alba was electronic and not paper and parchment, Galen still relished the learning. The vast amount of history that the library represented made him feel insignificant, even more so that it represented _human_ history. And the philosophies! Theses about existence, purpose—not just of humans, but of all life, of the universe itself. As he soaked up the knowledge, sometimes he even forgot that he was reading the words of a race that he had, until relatively recently, considered little better than animals.

But that notion had forever been turned on end. His astronaut friends had told him that in their time, apes were not as intelligent, that _they_ were the ones kept in cages for entertainment, that _they_ were the animals—without reason, without speech. He thought he had believed them, but seeing it in print, written in such eloquent narrative, his last doubts about the former dominance of humans was swept away.

However, about their foolishness, he was utterly and undeniably convinced. Only humans would be reckless enough to think that they could play as gods and not face any repercussions. Like with much of their science and their machines, they were so busy discovering how to create new species, their new children, that they didn’t stop to consider if they _should_.

The revelation that humans created apes, gave them intelligence equal to their own, still roiled inside Galen’s brain. As the immediate concern for Pete faded, he’d finally had the mental energy to assimilate his new view of the world. He felt bereft that Pete’s amnesia effectively wiped their friendship out of the astronaut’s mind; even though the memories were returning, Galen sensed a shift in their relationship, unsure that the closeness they’d shared could be recovered. He realized that was part of why he’d been avoiding spending time with his friend.

However, the library made a wonderful escape, and he tried to rationalize that none of them knew what information he might uncover there that could ultimately be of help to his friends. But he would make an effort to spend more time with Pete.

He was so busy considering how to mend his strained friendship with the dark-haired astronaut that he didn’t pay close enough attention to what he was reading. And he almost missed it. He was looking through some of the early histories of Alba when the discrepancies started nagging at the corners of his awareness.

The first time was when he was reading the journal of one of the early Elders, a human named Mordecai. Back then Alba was still the property of Eureka Genomics, the biogenetic corporation that created the angels. The nuclear war that had devastated the outside world was over. But the terrible consequences of that war—the radiation, the climatic changes, the survivors, such as they were—forced the city to close itself off from the outside world. The dome over the city was hidden somehow; the technical aspects were beyond Galen’s understanding.

The conditions in the city were crowded and resources were strained. They began to expand underground, outward from the central shaft that had once housed something called a missile, but the limitations of their power system stymied their plans. Then there it was. A mention of someone named Phenex and a cross-reference to an earlier entry. But when Galen tried to look at the earlier entry, he couldn’t find it.

At first, he thought nothing of it. After all, these records were hundreds of years old. Ape records that old were practically non-existent outside of the Sacred Scrolls, the religious text of the Lawgiver. And only the most prestigious Ape scholars were ever allowed to read those texts directly.

But once he was aware of the incompleteness of the records, he began to notice other inconsistencies. Resources shifted from one area to another without explanation. A reorganization of the Council of Elders. Entire sections of the narrative missing or disjointed, as if it had been altered after the fact.

Something had happened, something that radical shifted the dynamics of the city. And there was no trace of what it was anywhere in their history.

 

******

Burke felt like his legs had turned to rubber. By the time they got back to the medical center, he had to lean heavily on Zeke until he flopped on the bed.

“Pete, I hate to leave you here, but I have a few things to attend to. Tobias or Jed are only a button push away. Think you’ll be okay on your own?” Zeke frowned at the thought of deserting the exhausted man, but he had missed checking in with Mal yesterday to give his report.

But Burke’s eyes were already sliding closed, as he rolled up on his side and pillowed one arm under his head. “Yeah, sure. Jus’ gonna sleep anyway.” He turned back to Zeke for a moment. “Yer comin’ back, right?”

“I’ll be back by the time you wake up. Sleep well, my friend.”

He’d already drifted off by the time to door closed.

Zeke located Mal in the Council chamber. _Great. Nothing like being called on the carpet in the most intimidating way possible._ He considered himself lucky that none of the other Council members were there. He signaled Mal to ask if now was a good time to make his belated report.

“At your convenience, Ezekiel,” was the old man’s reply. Which really meant, ‘it’s about time.’ The pleasant feeling that lingered from the morning was fading fast.

By the time he pushed open the heavy chamber door, a lump of dread had settled into Zeke’s stomach.

“Ah, Ezekiel. I’m so glad you could join me.” The older man didn’t even look up from the array of pads he had spread out on the table in front of him.

“I’m sorry, _ee_ — Malachi. I was needed in the medical center last evening.”

“Oh? Has Pete Burke had a setback in his recovery?”

“No, in fact, he’s made great progress—“

“Good, because I’d hate to think that you flew someone critically ill all over the city this morning, including, I’m told, up to the dome.” Mal’s voice never changed inflection from a conversational tone, which made the criticism even more stinging.

Zeke scrubbed a hand through his unruly hair and blew out a sigh. But before Zeke could speak to defend himself, Mal finally lifted his head to favor his son with a raised brow and an expression that could sour milk.

“Oh for goodness sake, sit down, son. I’m going to get a crick in my neck if you keep standing there like that.”

Pulling a chair closer, Zeke settled on the edge of the seat, his hands clasped between his knees to keep from fidgeting. How did the old bird do that? Take him from chastised to repentant within about ten seconds.

“I’m sorry, Mal. I felt that after the difficulty he’s been having dealing with his reacquired memories, that Pete needed a break, something enjoyable to lift his spirits. We were both so exhausted last night after I did a deep Reading on him, I don’t think I could have gone ten feet, let alone sought you out to make a report.”

“All right. You came as soon as you were able. Let’s move on.” Mal sat back in his chair. “Tell me about the Reading you did last night.”

“I was trying to help him deal with the emotions that the returning memories have been stirring up. Not a big talker, that one. He’s been bottling everything up, not wanting to burden his friends.”

“And what did you learn?”

Zeke frowned at the feeling that he would be betraying a confidence by telling Mal about Burke’s memories. If there were anything that represented a threat to the city or his people, that would be another matter.

“Nothing relevant. He’s had a hell of a year, and I think there are worse things to come, things that he hasn’t even let himself think about yet.”

“Is he a danger? If these memories are so disturbing, could he turn violent?”

“No! No, he’s not a danger to anyone.” _Except maybe himself._ He was still worried about what would happen when those last memories burst like bubbles in Burke’s subconscious mind, but the concern was for Pete’s own safety.

“All right. What else? Galen and Alan?”

“Galen has been busy for the last few days in the library with Elias. Everything seems to be going fine there. Alan and Gabe are close to being ready to read the data on the flight disk, maybe as soon as this afternoon. Oh, Pete and Alan also talked about an old military base called Kirtland, southeast of the city ruins; they’d like to eventually try to go there and see if they can find anything that will help them.”

Mal’s expression locked down like a vault. “No. Absolutely not. Last we knew, there were large stockpiles of weapons-grade nuclear material beneath Kirtland. If it’s still there, the radiation levels could be extremely dangerous. Not to mention the dangers of travelling through the ruins. No, it’s not worth the risk.”

Zeke blinked, taken aback by his _eema’s_ vehemence. Usually Mal was much more open to discussion and rarely made pronouncements with such finality.

“But Pete thinks there could be ship components—“

Mal chopped his hand through the air. “No. The matter is closed.” He turned his attention back to the pads on the table. “Unless there is anything else you need to report, I think we are done here.”

 

******

Zeke scowled as he strode away from the Council chamber. Sometimes he really wished that he had someone else, anyone else, as a parent other than Mal. He threw himself off the landing platform, in his petulance contemplating, for just a brief moment, not opening his wings and letting himself plummet to the bottom of the shaft almost a mile below. But his wings snapped open instinctually, and he glided down to his destination.

He stopped in main medical to see Jed, who was used to him venting his frustration about life as the child of the head of the Council. He tolerated the mild ribbing that Jed gave him about spending the night in Burke’s room—again.

“Look, I’m supposed to get them to trust me, right? That’s what Mal wants, a good little spy to tell him all about them. Just doing my duty.” He was surprised as the harsh words slipped out, wondering about their truth.

“Whoa, whoa. I’m on your side, remember? I think it’s great that you and he are becoming—“

“Friends, Jed. Just friends,” insisted Zeke.

“I was going to say ‘close’, okay?” Jed patted his friend’s arm. “Geez, you’re tetchy today.”

Zeke sighed. “Sorry. Mal does this to me, drives me crazy.” He remembered his earlier promise to Burke. “Oh, speaking of going crazy, how soon do you think Pete can move to real quarters?”

“I want to see how he settles after the work you did with his memories last night. How was he being out and about this morning? When I looked in on him, he was sleeping like a stone.”

“Well,” Zeke said sheepishly, “actually, he was pretty exhausted. But I let him push himself too much. More my fault than his.”

“I’ll go by later and examine him.” Jed promised. “If he agrees not to go wandering around the city without someone to keep an eye on him, I’d probably release him tomorrow morning. Can you have something set up for him by then?”

“Sure thing. Something near where Alan and Galen are staying. Which will also put him near you and medical.” Zeke’s quarters were also on the same flood as medical, right next to Jed’s. “Just in case.”

“Good. But I’m counting on you and his friends to make sure he doesn’t overdo it.”

 

******

Galen wasn’t sure who he should talk to about his discovery concerning the Alban’s historical records. Although Elias had been helpful in finding him accounts to read that were interesting and answered the myriad of questions Galen always posed to him, the scholar was still a resident of the city and to Galen’s mind, not entirely trustworthy. In the end, he turned to the only people he could always rely on.

He had promised Virdon that he would find some time to visit Burke. When he left the library, he decided to go to the medical area to talk to his friend. As he pressed the chime on the door control outside of Burke’s room, he still felt a flutter of anxiety despite Virdon’s reassurances that Burke remembered him now. When the door opened at Burke’s command, Galen smiled to see his friend looking happy and relaxed, lounging on the bed with one arm behind his head as he read from an electronic pad. His spirit lifted even further when Burke raised his head and grinned.

“Hey, Galen! Long time no see, pal.” He put down the pad and waved at the table. “Pull up a chair.”

“I’m so glad to see you feeling better.” Galen slid the chair closer to the bed. “I’m sorry I haven’t been to see you, I was just worried that you wouldn’t… that is...”

“That I wouldn’t remember you?” he asked quietly.

“Well, yes.” Galen ducked his head.

“It’s okay, Galen. There’s still a lot of holes in my memory, but I remember enough to know that you’re a good friend.”

The chimp was quiet for a moment, relief at having his friend back warring with his anxiety about what he may have stumbled onto in the records.

“Pete, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the library here, learning about human history and the history of this city. And I came across something that… well, that makes me think that they are trying to hide something about their past.”

Burke’s brows furrowed together. “Hiding something? Like what?”

“There are references in the history to other species that Eureka Genomics, the scientists who founded this city, tried to create. They talk about the failures but not about any other successes than the angels. But about two centuries ago, the population of the city changed. They suddenly went from a crowding problem to having plenty of space. And their Council of Elders, that currently has six humans and three angels? It used to only have three humans, but was still a council of nine.” The chimp’s nose twitched in agitation.

“So you think someone else was living here that isn’t now?”

“Yes!” Galen hissed. “And whoever they were, they just suddenly disappeared with no mention in the history. Every now and then, I’ll come across a name that is strange—unlike any of the human or angel names—but with no explanation of who they are. It’s like someone tried to… to…”

“Whitewash the record,” Burke finished. “Um, cover up something unpleasant.” He explained when Galen gave him a confused look. “Did you talk to Alan about this?”

“Well, I tried to talk to Alan when we first got here about stories—legends—my people have about winged humans. He thought I was being superstitious and primitive. And while I agree with Alan that the substance of the legends has probably been twisted over the years, the fact that we even have these legends suggests that there has been… interaction between the angels and apes.”

“How do you know it was _these_ angels? Maybe it was another group.”

“No, that’s why I’ve been researching the early history of Alba. Eureka Genomics was the only group to successfully create winged humans. They had to come from here, at least originally. And the train that brought us here; we were still in ape-controlled territory when we fell into that train station, so they obviously have a way to travel there.”

“Yeah.” Burke rubbed a hand across his mouth. “And I take it these legends don’t make the angels the good guys, huh?”

“No. The stories are used to frighten children. ‘If you don’t go to bed right this instant, the _Sephrat_ will come and steal you away and eat you,’” he said in a squeaky, mocking voice. He wrinkled up his muzzle and gave a little shudder at the thought. “There’s more. Zaius told me that long ago, there were a couple of expeditions into the Forbidden Zone. The military was concerned that there might have been... threats living out in the desert with access to ancient weaponry. None of them returned. And yet, I haven’t been able to find any mention of any interaction with apes in the historical records. And when we first came here, we were told that there had been ‘problems’ in the past with apes. But there is no mention of any problems in the records, either.”

Burke pursed his lips in thought. “Galen, maybe the expeditions never made it this far. It _is_ a long way to come on foot. Maybe they all died in the desert or ended up going in a different direction entirely. It’s not like they could stop at a gas station and get directions.”

Galen rolled his eyes before scrunching his face up in annoyance. “I knew you wouldn’t take this seriously. Neither did Alan.”

“Hey, now wait a minute there, pal. I am taking you seriously. It does sounds like there is something screwy going on. But we need to think about this logically. A great detective from my time said ‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.’”

Galen shook his head, clearly confused. “So you’ll help me try to find out more?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course I will.” He pushed himself forward until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. “What if we asked Zeke if he knows anything about—“

“No! No. If the Albans are hiding something, I can’t imagine that they’ll be happy about us asking questions. Zeke is one of them.”

Burke’s eyebrows shot upward. “And you don’t trust _them_.”

“Do you?”

“Geez, Galen, what do you want me to say? They saved my life. And Zeke’s been… helping me a lot. Yeah, I trust him.”

Galen made a humming noise. “They’ve been nice to me, too. But nice does not equal trustworthy—or good.”

“How about this? I’ll see if maybe I can get Zeke to tell me what he knows without setting off any alarms. I do know a little bit about how to do recon.”

“Recon?”

“Reconnaissance. Finding out information all sneaky-like.” He waggled his eyebrows. “But I have to tell you, I don’t think Zeke’s in on whatever conspiracy you think is going on here. Even if his father… parent… whatever, is the head of the Council. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they aren’t exactly the Cleavers.”

“The what?”

“Never mind.” Burke waved his hand. “They don’t get along, is what I’m saying.”

“That may be. But I wouldn’t want to be the one to test his loyalty to his home and his family.”

“Uh, Galen? _You_ gave up your home and family for a couple of humans…” Burke reminded him.

“No, I gave them up for my principles and my scientific curiosity. You two just happened to be part of the bargain.” With a twinkle in his eye, Galen reached over and patted the human’s arm. “But if you think you can find out what Zeke knows without arousing his suspicion, that would—”

The door chiming interrupted him. “That’s probably Zeke now,” Burke warned in a quick whisper. He called for the door to open, revealing the angel waiting outside. Burke resisted the urge to glance at Galen.

“Hey there, Galen. It’s good to see you,” Zeke smiled, trying to shake his earlier bad mood. “How are your studies in the library going?”

“Very well, thank you.” Burke could hear the tension in Galen’s voice and hoped it wouldn’t be too noticeable to Zeke. “In fact, I think I’ll be heading back there now. Elias will wonder where I’ve gotten off to, if I’m not there to pester him with a thousand questions.”

 _Atta boy_ , Burke thought, _you play your part, and I’ll play mine._ He smirked, remembering how Galen’s penchant for acting saved their lives more than once.

“Okay, Galen,” he said. “Come back later this evening, buddy, I was thinking it’s time to expand your education of human pastimes to include card games. I haven’t had a good game of poker in, oh, about a thousand years.” He clapped Galen on the back and walked to the door with him. They exchanged a meaningful glance and a slight nod before the door closed and Burke turned back to Zeke.


	12. Wheel In The Sky

_I've been trying to make it home  
Got to make it, before too long  
I can't take this very much longer, no  
I'm stranded in a sleet of rain  
Don't think I'm ever gonna make it home again_

 

Urko felt like his head was going to explode into a thousand pieces. What had he drunk last night? _Too damn much, that’s what,_ the gorilla thought bitterly. When Misha presented him with a drink, he scowled and looked at it as if someone had placed a live scorpion in his hand.

“It’ll help your head, Shulmanu. And calm your stomach.” Misha explained quietly.

Urko was skeptical that anything short of decapitation would help his head, but after giving his attendant a scalding look, he took the proffered bowl and swilled it down in one go. It tasted terrible, but after a few minutes, the pounding in his head eased. Eventually, he was able to get up from the bed without feeling like he would fall over, and he allowed Misha to help him dress in fresh clothing.

By the time the gorilla left and returned with a platter of food, Urko’s stomach was actually growling. He thought back to the feast the night before and half-smiled to himself as he remembered the taste and smell of the human flesh that had been the main course.

“Misha?”

“Yes, Shulmanu?”

“How often do your people eat human meat? Where do you get it from?” he asked as he chewed. This tasted like the goat meat he had the first time—more gamey and less sweet than the meal last night.

“We send out hunting parties for meat every day, Shulmanu. There are humans who live in the ruins of the city or in wandering groups. When our hunting parties are unsuccessful, we keep herds of animals—goats, sheep, cattle. But the humans we hunt are little better than animals; they breed like vermin and strip bare any area they move into. Using them for food controls their population.”

“Yes, we have a similar problem with humans where I come from. They should all be eliminated, but the Council thinks they are _useful_ , as slaves and servants. I say they are more trouble than they’re worth.”

“Shulmanu is wise.” Misha bowed obsequiously.

Urko grunted his satisfaction. He was about to say more when a voice called from the doorway. “Shulmanu? It is Grul. May I enter?” He nodded to Misha, who scurried to the doorway and held aside the flap.

“Come in, Grul, come in.” He was feeling better by the moment. Whatever Misha had given him was working.

“Good morning, Shulmanu,” He bowed low, touching his head to the rug. “I hope you slept well.”

“I did. And now I have questions for you.” Might as well get right down to business. Last night was muzzy except for Grul’s voice soaring above the crowd, reciting the prophecy. “Sit, and let us talk.”

Grul pushed himself back and sat cross-legged on a cushion. “Of course, Shulmanu. I’ll be happy to answer anything I can.”

Urko settled onto another cushion, crossing his arms over his chest. “The groups you spoke of last night—the Emim and the Anakim. Tell me more about them.”

Grul straightened his back and rested his hands lightly on his knees. “The Emim are humans, Shulmanu, but nothing like the animals who live in the ruins.” His voice took on a sing-song quality. “They are knowledgeable about a great many things—machines and medicine, architecture, energy. They are the keepers of the past; they know about the time before the Great Tribulation, when everything was destroyed. They live in a city deep underground that was protected from the fire and wind.

“Before the destruction, the Rephaim lived in the city as well, and it was like a Paradise. But after the outside world became the Desolation, the Emim forced the Rephaim to leave the city. The Anakim, with winged ones—“

“Winged ones?” Urko’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me about them.”

“They are very like the Emim, appearing human in every way except they have great feathered wings that allow them to fly.”

“Sephrat,” murmured Urko.

“Pardon, Shulmanu?”

“Sephrat,” he repeated louder. “My people have legends about winged humans, we call them Sephrat. I thought they were only a legend, but it would appear differently,”

“Perhaps they are the same as the Anakim. If I may continue, Shulmanu—“ Urko nodded. “The Anakim live there as well and were more pleasing to the Emim, because they looked more like them and because they mated with each other. The Anakim were allowed to remain in the city when the Rephaim were expelled.

“Many Rephaim died in the early years of living on the surface. We have not forgotten that we once lived in a Paradise, and we have not forgiven the ones who turned us out to die. And now, with you leading us, we will destroy our enemies and reclaim the city for ourselves.”

“And who am I to lead, exactly? You have warriors? Soldiers? Weapons?”

“Yes, Shulmanu. We have scoured the ruins of the Desolation and found weapons left behind by those that came before. We have guns and explosives. We have canisters of gas that are poisonous to any who breathe even the smallest amount of the fumes. And all adults train with weapons.” He lifted his chin, a glint of pride in his eyes. “We have been vigilant, Shulmanu, and prepared for your arrival as the sign that the time to reclaim Paradise is at hand.”

Urko rubbed his hand over his clenched fist, lost in thought. A city full of humans and winged ones who still held onto the very technology that had once almost shattered this planet. If Zaius was to be believed, the humans annihilated their own civilization hundreds of years ago… that must be the Great Tribulation that Grul mentioned. _This_ was the threat that apes feared. Humans who still had the ability to wreak havoc with science and machines. Yes, they needed to be destroyed.

“All right, Grul.” He gripped the shoulder of the other gorilla. “But we need information. Maps of the city. We need to know about their weapons, their numbers, their defenses. Can you get that information?” he asked slyly.

“Of course, Shulmanu. We have a spy inside the city, one of the Anakim. He thinks he can bring about a peaceful reconciliation of our species with the Emim. He should be here in a few days.”

“Good, good. In the meantime,” Urko smiled chillingly, “I would like to see these weapons you’ve found.”

 

******

Urko was duly impressed by the arsenal the Rephaim had stockpiled, although some of the weapons were completely unfamiliar to him. Grul had returned his pistol to him, but when he saw some of the handguns available, he decided to take one that fired small needle-like projectiles instead. With a little practice, he should become proficient with it.

Four days later, Azrael arrived in the village. Grul and the tribal elders had a tent where they met in private. When Urko entered, he stopped just inside the entrance, momentarily awestruck by the tall figure with jet black wings that stood among the gorillas around a table covered with papers. The angel was a head taller than any of the Rephaim, and when he drew himself up to his full height, had a couple of inches even on Urko. His dark hair hung in a frame around his face and partially hid his eyes. Urko disliked him instantly.

“Ah, Shulmanu.” Grul shuffled over to Urko and after sketching a bow, drew him toward the group with a light touch on his arm. “This is our esteemed guest, Azrael. Azrael, this is the Shulmanu.”

“Shulmanu,” Azrael bobbed his head in deference. The word sounded strange rolling off a human tongue, and Urko didn’t like that, either.

“Call me Urko.”

“Urko,” he repeated. He didn’t pronounce it quiet right, but most humans didn’t. “I was just telling Grul and the elders the latest news from the city.”

“Well, then by all means, continue.” The others moved aside to make room for Urko to stand at the table opposite Azrael.

“The city has visitors. Three outsiders who were rescued a few weeks ago. Two humans, and—“

“A chimpanzee,” interrupted Urko with a growl.

Azrael tilted his head to one side. “But how did you…?” he sputtered.

“Two humans? Two _living_ humans? Don’t you mean one human and one body of a human?” The warning in Urko’s growl was completely lost on the angel.

“No, no. They are both alive. One was gravely injured, but I believe he is mostly recovered now,” Azrael replied.

“Burke,” spat Urko. Both his hands curled into tight fists.

“Yes, Pete Burke. And the other one is Alan Virdon. And the chimpanzee is named—“

“Galen.” Urko shook his shaggy head. His voice quivered with repressed rage. “Galen, Virdon and Burke. Alive.”

“Friends of yours?”

Urko glared at the angel, his fists clenching and unclenching as he tried to control the urge to smash the smug look off Azrael’s all too human face. Instead, he abruptly turned from the group and pulled Grul to the other side of the tent. He whispered a few words into Grul’s ear; the other ape nodded vigorously then left the tent. When Urko returned to the table, his features were carefully schooled into a friendly expression.

“Azrael, show me these maps you’ve brought us. I’m told your city is very impressive.” Urko tried his best to put a hint of awe in his tone.

For the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, Azrael went over the maps with Urko and the other gorillas, pointing out ways in and out of the city as well as the lift system that moved the human residents from floor to floor. Luckily the elders deferred to Urko, who asked seemingly benign questions about the demographics of the population. He also made sure to note the locations of the essential areas, where the city produced its energy and the system that maintained fresh airflow and light to even the deepest levels.

The city _was_ impressive, no doubt about it. But it was also a testament to the folly of the humans of the past. If the Rephaim went to live there, they would become no better than the humans, dependent on science and machines that had the potential to destroy them. It was the technology itself that was evil, and it would corrupt the heart of even the most worthy ape.

No wonder Burke, Virdon, and Galen had found refuge there. Those three always managed to get themselves deep into the heart of Urko’s worst nightmares. And if Azrael was to be believed, Burke was still alive. All the more reason to lead the Rephaim in an attack on the city. First, he would find the fugitives and make sure they finally died once and for all. Then he would destroy everything else. He would teach the Rephaim that they were better off living according to their own ways. They would understand. He would _make_ them understand. If it was a Paradise they wanted, he could give them that, but it would not be the one they had in mind.

When Urko had all the information that he thought Azrael would give them, he raised a hand and crooked a finger at the three larger gorillas who’d come into the tent while Azrael was talking.

“Grul?” he called nonchalantly, never taking his eyes from Azrael.

The three gorillas moved quickly around the group of elders to flank the angel. Two of them drew guns from their robes, while the third produced a length of thick rope.

Azrael’s eyes went wide when he saw the weapons now trained on him. “What is the meaning of this? I came to you in peace, and this is how you treat me?” The gorillas seized his arms and began to bind his hands behind his back.

“I’m afraid, dear friend, that you are now a liability.” Urko barked out sardonic laughter as Azrael began to thrash futilely against the gorillas’ strength. “We can’t risk you flying back to your city and telling them about us. Remain useful to us, and you’ll stay alive. For now.” Urko turned to Grul. “See that he is secured. I have more questions for him that may require persuasion to insure his cooperation.”

“Of course, Shulmanu.” Grul bowed, then motioned for the gorillas and their struggling captive to follow him.

Urko turned back to the elders, who grinned and hopped excitedly from foot to foot. “Now,” Urko roared with a returning grin as he thumped a fist against his chest, “we prepare for war!”

 

******

Misha knelt on the carpet, his head bowed and eyes closed as he listened to the clatter of objects being thrown around the tent. He flinched at a particularly loud crash as a metal plate hit something solid. When they returned from the meeting with Azrael and the Elders, the Shulmanu flew into a rage, roaring in pure frustration, and began hurtling anything he could lift.

“Burke is alive!” shouted Urko. “How many times does one pest of a human have to die before he stays dead?”

Risking a cautious look up from his cowed position, Misha asked quietly, “I don’t understand, Shulmanu. You know these humans?”

Urko rounded on Misha, his fists clenched before him. He pressed them to his temples. “Yes, Misha, I know them. They have been thorns in my side for the last year—them and the traitorous Galen. They are slippery, treacherous, lying creatures who _will not die_.” He knelt down in front of Misha and opened his hands in supplication. “Burke was dead. I saw him breath his last breathe with my own eyes. I felt his blood as it pulsed out of his body. He was _dead_.” He paused as his face fell. “And then he was gone.”

He looked around furtively, like he expected something to jump at him from the shadows. “They were all gone. I assumed that Virdon and Galen knocked me out somehow and took Burke’s body away. But now here they are again, in that city.” His face went slack for a moment as if he were listening to a distance sound. Then he smiled, a feral expression that contained no mirth. “Yes, yes. This could be fortuitous, Misha. It is fate. All our enemies in the same place, and we have the means to crush them completely.” He laughed again. “It will be glorious.”

“And then we’ll move on to Central City.”

 

******

The angel Azrael glared balefully at Urko when he came into the tent where the capture was bound and gagged, lying on his side in the sand. In addition to tying his hands and legs, the gorillas had secured his wings as well, strapping them down to his back so that he couldn’t use them as leverage to sit up.

Urko squatted near Azrael’s head and just stared for a while. This creature—a _Sephrat_ —haunted ape legends. They represented the worst of human traits. Capricious, cruel, impulsive, relentless in their quest to kill apes. They were the wolves at the door, who under the cover of nightfall would steal away your children from their beds. And he came from a city filled with more of his kind.

And humans. Technology-dependent humans who still clung to the past, who thought themselves clever and worthwhile. They thought they were better than apes, better than the Rephaim. After all, they’d turned the gorillas into the wilderness to die. No wonder Galen, Virdon and Burke had found a place among them.

Urko’s eyes narrowed. They would all pay for their betrayal. Starting with this one.

He reached over and pulled the gag off the angel.

Azrael licked his dry lips. When Urko continued his silent regard, Azrael ground out, “Take a photo, it’ll last longer.”

It was so like something that Burke would say that for a moment, Urko was taken aback. Then he smashed his fist into the angel’s insolent face.

Another more familiar voice began to chuckle from behind him. He spun around to see Burke lounging arrogantly on a cushion, propped up on one elbow. And he was laughing.

“You’re not here,” Urko growled. “You’re—“

“Dead?” Burke interrupted. “Evidently not, buddy boy.” He flashed a toothy grin.

“You’re in that city,” Urko finished, each word clipped and deliberate.

Azrael spat blood into the sand. “Who are you talking to?”

Urko turned back to his prisoner. “No one… important.” He fisted a hand in Azrael’s dark hair and pulled his head back. “You, on the other hand, remain important… for now. So if you want to continue being important, you’ll answer my questions.”

“You’ve got a hell of a way of asking,” he said, running his tongue over his rapidly swelling lips.

“Oh, I _like_ this guy, Urko. Even if he is a traitor to his people. But hey, who am I to hold a little treason against anyone?” Burke chuckled again.

“Shut up!” Urko growled to both of them. “What kind of weapons do your people have? What kind of organized resistance can we expect when we enter the city?” he demanded, giving Azrael’s head a little shake to punctuate each question.

“You’re going to try to take the city by force? You’re a bigger fool than I thought,” the angel replied.

“Uh oh, he’s got your number,” quipped Burke.

“Answer my questions.” Urko tugged a little harder on Azrael’s hair. “What kind of weapons? What are their defenses? What is the best way to enter the city undetected?”

“Bite me,” the angel retorted defiantly.

“Feisty one, isn’t he?”

Urko let go of the dark hair with a petty shove. “If you don’t answer my questions, I’ll rip every single one of those pretty feathers out of your wings.”

“Yeah, because torture worked so well for you last time you wanted information from me, huh?” Burke’s sarcasm was not lost on Urko.

“I came here on a mission of peace to help these creatures. And this is how they repay my generosity.” Azrael shook his head. “I won’t be responsible for the destruction of my own people. You might as well kill me now.”

“These creatures? Your generosity?” Urko stood and paced back and forth in front of the prone captive. “You think you’re so _superior_ to them, don’t you? Humans are not superior to Apes! And you—you and your kind are abominations! But you think you’re so much better than us. Well, we’ll see who’s superior when your precious city is in flames!”

“That’s it, Urko. Show ‘em who’s boss!” the specter of the astronaut urged him on.

“It’ll never happen. Yes, we are superior, and if you try to attack our city, you and these freaks are the ones who will die.”

Urko lashed out a booted foot to kick Azrael in the midsection. The angel curled in on himself, gasping for air.

“Ooh hoo,” hooted Burke, “I think he hit a nerve there.”

Burke’s taunting only fueled Urko’s anger. He delivered a flurry of kicks to Azrael’s torso that left the prisoner groaning and coughing.

“Careful, Urko, or he’ll be dead before he tells you anything.”

Urko turned and paced a circle around the prisoner, trying to bring his fury under control. He stopped in front of Burke, who hadn’t moved from where he reclined on the cushions.

“Go away. You aren’t really here.” He stabbed a finger at Burke, the other hand curled into a fist with the desire to choke the life out of the annoying human—again.

“No can do, buddy boy.” Burke smirked. “Y’see, the problem is, if you want me to leave, you have to make me leave. Because I’m only here in that big shaggy noggin of yours.” He pointed a finger at his temple and twirled it in a circle. “And let’s face facts here, Urko, you’ve lost it. You’ve gone batty.”

Urko glared at Burke for another moment, then turned back to his prisoner. If he couldn’t make the human go away, he would just ignore him.

Azrael’s eyes were closed as he continued to breathe in labored gasps. Urko knelt down by his head again. He reached out a patted the angel’s cheek to rouse him.

“We aren’t done yet, pretty little bird.”

The dark eyes dragged open slowly, but the look he gave Urko was still glassy and dazed. A small string of crimson-stained saliva dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

“I’ve got nothing to say to you,” he ground out in a husky, pain-filled voice.

“I think he doesn’t appreciate your stunning conversational skills. Can’t imagine why, with you being so witty and engaging,” drawled Burke. Then he started laughing again, a deep, sustained, belly-shaking sound that grated on Urko’s nerves.

“We’ll see about that.” Urko reached behind Azrael and grabbed a handful of long pinion feathers from the apex of his wing. With a swift yank, they all came free in his fist with a sickening popping sound.

And then Azrael’s screams drowned out the sound of Burke’s laughter.

Urko grinned. “That’s better.”


	13. Mother, Father

_Through bitter tears and wounded years,_   
_Those ties of blood were strong_   
_So much to say, those yesterdays_   
_So now don't you turn away._

 _  
_

“Zeke,” Burke began as he chewed on his lunch, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure. Shoot.” He swallowed and put down his fork, giving Pete his full attention.

“Galen is the only ape in the city, right?”

“Yes.” Zeke tilted his head to one side, curious.

“But there has been contact with other apes, hasn’t there? Galen said that you were worried about bringing him here because there has been some problem with apes in the past.” He rubbed a hand across his chin. “I was just thinking about Urko and that train station. Have you had a problem with apes finding their way into the station before the roof collapsed?”

“No, they’ve never been able to get in before. We blocked off the main entrance, and the entrance we use is well hidden.” A frown tugged the corners of his mouth. “We’ve observed the apes and humans in the area surrounding the train station, but we tried not to interact with them.”

Burke put down his own fork and leaned forward. “Then who caused these ‘problems’ in the past?”

Zeke sighed and sat back. “There are other groups of…apes living on the surface, in the desert. They aren’t like the apes where Galen comes from.” His gaze dropped to the table, where he ran his fingers nervously over the edge.

“In what ways?” Burke pressed. When the angel only frowned more, Burke reached across the table to touch Zeke’s wrist. “Zeke, how are they different?”

Zeke opened his mouth and closed it again. He didn’t want to keep secrets from his new friends, but he wasn’t sure Mal would approve of telling them about the difficulties they’d had with the local apes. Although by tradition, the subject wasn’t generally discussed, it’s not like it was a taboo or a state secret. And if there was even the remote possibility that Burke might decide to remain in the city, he deserved to know.

“Okay,” he said more to himself than to Burke. “Well, first, the local apes are all gorillas. No one knows where they came from; maybe they are an offshoot of Galen’s people. Maybe they wandered into the desert centuries ago and were mutated by the radiation. We just don’t know. But they’re more aggressive. They aren’t vegetarians, either—in fact, quite the opposite. All they eat is meat, and they aren’t terribly… picky about what form the meat takes.”

Burke’s face scrunched up in disgust. “So they eat _people_?”

“Human, angels, even other apes. Like I said, they aren’t picky. Every now and then, some of them would try to get into the city. Not that they can really do more than dance around outside and scream impotently. But anyone who travels outside the city is armed, and even then, we’ve lost a few people. In the last few years, they seem to have finally decided to leave us alone.”

Burke’s mind was churning furiously. Could these carnivorous apes be the missing residents of the city that Galen had stumbled on? He believed Zeke when he claimed not to know their origin, but that doesn’t mean someone else in the city didn’t. Surely the leaders of the Council must know—

“Now can I ask _you_ something, Pete?” Zeke felt a flush starting to rise, and he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. Burke nodded absently, still trying to sort out the puzzle. “Would you, er…“ he cleared his throat when his voice squeaked. “Would you consider staying here, making Alba your home?”

Burke’s attention snapped back to his companion. He raked a hand through his hair and blew out a gusty sigh. “Well, Zeke, I…I don’t know.” He swallowed hard and sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. “I guess it would depend on what the flight disk tells us. If it shows that what happened to us is reversible, Alan’s not going to give up until he finds a way back.”

“But you don’t really think you can get back, do you?”

The astronaut looked sheepishly at Zeke with downcast eyes, his mouth quirked to one side. “Honestly? Nope.”

“Then why do you keep following Alan around? Why did you suggest going to Kirtland?”

“Because he’s my commanding officer.” Burke rubbed his chin. “No, it’s more than that. He’s my best friend. And I know that until he’s turned over every stone, exhausted every possible chance, he’d never going to be able to accept that his family is gone. He’ll never be able to let himself have any happiness without guilt tearing him up inside until he knows, deep in his soul, that he’s tried everything he could to get back to them.” He shrugged. “So I go along to keep him out of trouble. It’s not like I’ve had anything better to do, anyway. The world we’ve been travelling in doesn’t have a lot of job openings for ex-astronauts with authority issues. And my skill set isn’t exactly compatible with subsistence farming and groveling after ape masters.”

“And what about here? There are lots of things you could do here that I think you’d enjoy. Don’t you think you could be… happy here?” Zeke asked hopefully.

“I can’t desert Alan, Zeke.”

“Alan can stay, too. Even Galen.” He leaned forward in earnest appeal. “Couldn’t you convince them?”

Burke scoffed and shook his head. “No way. Like I said, Alan isn’t going to give up that easily.” He pushed himself out of his chair and started pacing around the room, chewing in a fingernail.

He could sense Burke’s hesitation, his conflicted feelings, and decided to press the issue. “So it’s all about Alan, is it? What you want, your happiness, your safety, doesn’t count for anything?” He also stood, his wings hunched up high above his shoulders. “And people say I have self-worth issues.” As soon as the words were out, he wished he could take them back.

Pete rounded on Zeke, his face darkening with anger. “Hey, that’s not fair. Alan’s been a good friend, he’s always had my back.”

“I’m not talking about Alan, Pete, I’m talking about you. And why you keep finding excuses not to give yourself even a chance to be happy. What is it you’re really afraid of?” He leaned forward, knuckles pressed to the table.

“Whoa there, pal. You don’t know the first thing about—“

“Yeah, actually, I do,” Zeke interrupted. “I’ve seen what makes you tick.”

Burke felt a flutter of panic as all the color drained from his face. “What?” he spit the word out. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Zeke tried to backpedal. “I… I… I mean,” he stammered, “that is, I—“

“You went rooting around in my head and now you think you know everything about me, is that it?” Burke’s voice was icy and quiet. Zeke could hear the warning bells in his head, could feel the anger and hurt radiating off the other man. How had this discussion gone so terribly wrong so fast?

He surreptitiously pressed a stud on his bracelet that would send an emergency summons to Jed. “Pete—“

“No.” Burke backed away from the table. “I think you need to stay away from me for a while.”

“Pete, please—“

“Just get the hell out. Now.”

Zeke picked up his pad and brushed past Burke, his face a study in misery. He paused in the doorway and turned his head slightly over his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

He leaned against the wall outside and felt the thud through the panel of something hitting inside with a fair amount of force. Luckily, just then Jed came jogging up the hallway.

 

******

“Of all the stupid, reckless, screwed-up stunts…” Alan strode into Burke’s room, spun a chair around on its legs, and plunked down straddling it. Burke was sitting on the bed, holding out his hand to be wrapped by Jed.

“Well, good afternoon to you, too, Colonel.” The sarcasm was harsh and biting.

Virdon nodded at Jed. “How bad is it?”

“Took off a layer of skin, broke two bones,” Jed replied flatly, glancing up at Burke’s face. The bloody smear still decorated the wall on the other side of the room. “He’ll heal.” He finished his ministrations, then turned and walked toward the door, patting Virdon on the shoulder as he passed him, as if to say, ‘good luck’.

“What do you want, Alan? I’m really not in the mood right now.” Burke flexed his hand slightly under the bandage and winced at the pain.

“Yeah, well, your mood is the problem. What the hell has gotten into you?”

“Haven’t you heard? I’m brain damaged.” Burke smacked his uninjured palm against his forehead. “Oh wait, of course you know, because you and those two featherbrained loudmouths are all talking about me behind my back! Thanks, pal!”

 “Because we all care about you!” Virdon raked both hands through his hair, and sighed loudly in frustration. “Look, I’m on your side, Pete. Nothing’s gonna change that.”

“Alan—“ the growl was a clear warning.

“No. This time you are going to listen to me.” Alan stabbed a finger in Pete’s direction. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on between you and Zeke—“

“He wants me to stay here, okay! He wants me to give up on trying to get you back home, and—“

“Do you even hear yourself? Get _me_ back home?” He shook his head. “You’ve never believed, from day one, that we could get back. ‘Face it, Alan, this is home now.’ How many times have you said that to me? And now all of a sudden, when we found someplace where we could live peacefully, not have to worry about dodging bullets, you get itchy feet?”

“What are you, like a pod person or something?” Burke shouted. “You practically drool like one of Pavlov’s dogs when anyone mentions that damn disk! When did _you_ give up on getting back to your family?”

“ _I_ haven’t given up!” Virdon yelled back. “But damn it, Pete, I’m not going to keep dragging you around when you could stay here and be safe!”

“Be safe? Are you serious? You’re worried about me getting hurt? Risk is part and parcel of the whole astronaut gig, Colonel. We risk our lives every time we go up.”

“Yeah, but at least then it meant something. We had a mission, a purpose. Not some stupid senseless accident—“ Virdon choked on the words.

Burke bit down on a harsh retort as his anger drained away suddenly. “Alan. Accidents happen. It wasn’t your fault, and you can’t protect me. It that what this is all about, what happened in that train station?”

Virdon passed a hand over his eyes. “Pete, I had to watch you… die.” He thought back to the dream he had the first night they were in Alba, of Pete walking away from him. “I don’t think I can do that again. We’ve already had so many close calls. Our luck isn’t going to hold forever.”

“I wouldn’t have exactly called what we’ve had so far ‘luck’, unless you add ‘bad’ to it.” Burke sighed.

“There are a thousand things that could happen to you. Broken bones… illnesses… infections.” He waved his hand at Burke. “You still have your appendix. What if that decides to go south on you? Here, they have the technology to treat you. You’d have a fighting chance.” His voice dropped to a near whisper. “I couldn’t even get that damn rebar out of you, Pete. I had to leave you pinned there like a bug. I couldn’t—“ He swallowed hard past the lump in his throat. “If Jed and Zeke had gotten there just a few minutes later, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

His shoulders slumped. “Much as I want to get back to my family, I don’t want to do it at the cost of your life, pal.”

Burke straightened up, his jaw clenching with determination. “Don’t you mean _our lives_? You’re just as much at risk as I am out there, Al. I’m not going to leave you with no one to watch your back. So unless you try to order me to stay here, I’m sticking with you like white on rice.”

“And if I did order you?”

“Way I figure, my hitch was up about a thousand years ago. _Sir_. “

Both men sat in an uneasy silence, unsure how to break their impasse. Finally, Virdon had an idea. “Look, we’re just about ready to test the disk reader down in Gabe’s lab. Why don’t we table this discussion until we see what that tells us?”

“Okay,” agreed Burke. “I guess I should find Zeke and apologize.” He gave a half-smirk. “I kinda over-reacted and blew up at him.”

“Ya think?” Virdon was concerned about Burke’s mood swings; he’d always been volatile, but never this bad. “I’m sure he’ll understand. You’re still recovering, he knows that.”

“I’m trying, I really am.” He rubbed absently at his bandaged knuckles. “I keep thinking I should have some profound wisdom now, some epiphany that comes with nearly dying, but I got nada.” He pushed himself off the bed and paced. “I still don’t remember anything from that day, Al.”

“That’s probably for the best. Believe me, I’d love to not have those memories either, if I could.” But some things couldn’t be forgotten.

“Hey, before we go to Gabe’s, did you know about the apes who live in the desert outside the city?” Burke filled Virdon in on Galen’s concerns about the gaps in the Alban historical records that led him to question Zeke about their contact with apes. Virdon agreed that the connection was worth investigating further, but not until they were finished getting the data from the flight disk. For him, everything else could wait until they had their answers. One way or another.

 

******

They made the short trip down to Gabe’s workshop together. While they were on the lift, Burke checked on Zeke’s location. The central computer told him that Zeke was in the city’s main power plant, which sat at the very bottom of the shaft. He decided it would be better to let the angel cool down before trying to apologize. Besides, he was still trying to sort out why he’d reacted so severely to Zeke’s prodding. If the angel really had seen as much of Pete’s psyche as he’d hinted at…. Well, there were many things that Burke kept under wraps about himself, and he wasn’t wild about the idea that someone had just waltzed into his head and uncovered them all.

When they arrived at the lab, Gabe was in the last stages of attaching the adapted reader up to the main computer console.

“Hey guys,” Gabe called out when he looked up from his task. “Great timing. A few more adjustments and we should be ready to give this a try.”

Gabe maintained a running commentary as he worked, explaining to Burke the basic principles of the reader. It would decipher the data on the magnetic disk and feed it into the computer. The bigger challenge, he explained, would be whether the computer could properly analyze the information to give them the answers they wanted about what had caused their ship to return to Earth of the future.

Virdon hovered over Gabe’s shoulder, shifting nervously from foot to foot, his hands twitching every now and then toward the apparatus while Gabe made a few last tweaks. Burke stood a few feet away, his arms clutched tightly across his chest as he worried at a fingernail on his unbandaged hand with his teeth.

A year. A year of carrying around the small metallic disk, keeping it hidden, keeping it safe, and hoping beyond hope that it would give them some answers. But would it be the answer they’d been looking for?

After a few more minutes, Virdon couldn’t contain himself anymore. “Well? Are we ready?” he asked Gabe impatiently.

“I—“ Gabe moved a scanner over the device. “Yes, I think so. Hand me the disk, would you, Alan? It’s in that box there.”

Virdon opened a metallic case on the other end of the bench and lifted out the small disk. Burke’s head started to pound in time to his pulse, and he let out the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. _Just breathe, Pete_.

Gabe slipped the disk into a small compartment, settling it onto a spindle through the center hole with a quiet click. He closed a cover and touched the computer screen a few times. A soft whirring accompanied the flashing lights that signaled the device was operating.

“Now what?” Burke asked.

Gabe shrugged. “Don’t know. I’m not exactly sure how long this will take.” He tilted his head to one side as he studied the readout screen. “But it’s definitely reading something….” His voice trailed off as he focused on the information being displayed.

Virdon and Burke exchanged a long look.

“Gabe?” Virdon implored.

“Hmm?”

“Gabe!”

“What? Oh. Sorry. Yeah, the data is coming in.”

“And?” Burke urged, practically shaking with his impatience.

“Look guys, it’s going to be a little while before the computer turns this into something comprehensible. Let’s grab some dinner, and I’ll have it pipe the analysis over to all our pads when it’s done.”

 

******

“Oh, hell,” Burke swore, dropping his fork to his plate as he scanned the data. “This is some pretty advanced relativistic physics here. Tachyon particles, Cherenkov radiation, bosonic string theory, quantum chromodynamics. Way beyond my degree in astrophysics.”

“Unfortunately, the practical applications of theoretical physics to space flight is one of those areas of science that is lost to us.” Gabe frowned. “The computer can interpret the data according to the theories, but it can’t tell you how to make a ship travel through time.”

“But it _can_ be done?” Virdon asked anxiously.

“Well, the upshot seems to be that the process is reversible, yes. If you can figure out the right trajectory back through the radiation storm, you should be able to enter another timewarp.” Gabe didn’t sound overly convinced.

“But having it take us back to the _right_ time, that’s the tricky part, isn’t it?” Burke tapped a finger on the table.

“You’re the pilot, Pete. How much of this do you understand?” Virdon raised an eyebrow.

“Enough to get the general idea.” He pushed the dishes away from in front of him, and began tracing shapes on the table with his finger. “So this point in the curve of space and time is shaped like a funnel. Everything that comes within a certain range of it gets sucked in, which is why there was at least one other ship that landed here and now. Those other astronauts that Zaius told us about. Unfortunately, we don’t know who they were or when their mission left Earth. It would be great to have another data point. For all we know, they could have left after we did, but ended up landing here before us.”

“The computer should be able to give us the equivalent of a topographical map of space from our record. We need to figure out the right path on the curve to take that’ll  not only let us escape the well around the planet that this time represents, but that’ll also get us back to 1980. We get on the wrong line, and we could end up centuries off in either direction.”

He sat back in his chair and threw his hands up in the air. “Of course, this all still depends on finding a working ship. They aren’t exactly laying around in abundance, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“One step at a time, Pete.” Virdon cautioned, shaking his head. “Now that we at least know it’s possible—“

“Theoretically possible,” Burke interjected.

“That’s still huge!”

“Alan—“ Burke could practically hear Virdon already making plans for the homecoming parades in his head.

“I know what you’re going to say. ‘Don’t get my hopes up.’ Hope is all I’ve got, Pete.” The look Virdon gave him made Burke want to tell him that they would find a way, that it would all work out. “It’s what’s kept me going for the last year. And now, we have a reason to hope. I can’t let that go, pal.”

“Well, all right then.” Burke sat back, carefully cupping his hands behind his head. “So what’s next? Who's up for a trip to Kirtland?”


	14. Closer To The Edge

_Can you imagine a time when the truth ran free?  
The birth of a song, the death of a dream  
This never ending story paid for with pride and faith  
We all fall short of glory, lost in ourselves_

 

“Gin?” Galen tentatively laid his hand of cards down on the table. “Is that right?”

“Again?” Burke rolled his eyes. “Come on, Galen, give a guy a break.”

“I like this game. You said if I did well with this one, you’d teach me ‘poker’?” the chimp’s nose wiggled excitedly.

“I don’t know, I think you’re a ringer—“

The door chimed, and Burke looked up from where he slouched in the chair, one leg pulled up next to him. “Come in,” he called.

When the door opened to reveal Zeke, Burke’s face fell. “Uh, Galen, can we do this another time?”

Galen looked over his shoulder, then quickly rose from his chair. “Of course.” The chimp shuffled out the door, brushing past the angel as he stepped into the room.

Burke stood up, nervously rubbing his bandaged hand. “Hey.”

“Alan said you wanted to see me.” Zeke leaned back against the wall, refusing to come any closer, his face inscrutable.

“Yeah.” Pete brought his uninjured hand up to rub across his mouth. “You know what sucks? When Alan’s right. I’m sorry, Zeke.” He gestured at the chair that Galen recently vacated. “Can we sit down and talk? Please?”

Zeke nodded and pushed off the wall, lowered himself warily into the chair. “How’s your hand?”

“Just about healed, thanks to those handy little robots. Itches like crazy.” Pete leaned his elbows on the table. “Zeke—“

“I thought Jed was going to release you?”

Burke ducked his head, a flush creeping up his neck. “Well, after my little temper tantrum, he thought it would be a good idea to keep a closer eye on me for another day. Actually, I’m just about to bust outta here.” He cleared his throat. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take your head off the other day. You were just trying to look out for me.”

Zeke shrugged. “I shouldn’t have pushed you so much, either. I know how much helping Alan means to you, I shouldn’t have trivialized it.”

“Yeah, about that. I… um… I’ve never been real big on letting people get close to me. And when you said knew what makes me tick, I guess I freaked out a little bit.”

“Pete—“

Burke didn’t let him finish. “I guess I was worried that if you saw what was really in here,” he tapped his temple, “that you wouldn’t be so keen to pal around with me, y’know?”

“Pete—“

“Alan’s the only one who I ever trusted enough to really let my guard down with, because he’s read all the psych reports anyway, and… and Galen’s a good friend and all but even he doesn’t know—“

“Pete!” Zeke moved around the table, since Burke had retreated further and further from him while he babbled, and laid a hand on his arm. “Hey. I’m still here, aren’t I? I’ve already seen just about everything there is to see. And I hate to break it to you, but you are devastatingly normal. Which is to say, no more screwed up than the rest of us.” He gave Burke a wry smile. “Whatever your issues are, trust me when I say I could give them all a run for the money.”

Burke cocked an eyebrow, his mouth quirking to one side. “Well, welcome to the club. Next week, we’re having jackets made.” He absently rubbed at this hand again. “You’ll be glad to know that Alan’s on your side, by the way, about staying in the city. Or at least seeing if the Elders will let us use it as a home base while we go check out Kirtland, and maybe a couple other places. This area was littered with military installations—“

“Er, about Kirtland.” He tugged on Burke’s arm, urging him to sit back at the table. “I talked to Mal about it, and he says it’s too dangerous to try to get to. There was a lot of radioactive material stored there before the war, and the levels of radiation could be prohibitive.”

Burke frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together. “Well, we’ll just have to convince him that it’s worth the risk.”

 

******

Virdon chewed on his bottom lip as he read over the data gleaned from their flight recorder disk for what seemed like the hundredth time. He closed his eyes, pressing into them with the heels of his hands as he thought back to his own fuzzy memories of the last hours of their mission. Everything had been going normally as they approached the Alpha Centauri AB system. With the new Hasslein drive on their ship, they completed the trip that took light over four years in only three weeks. That was the first part of their mission, a successful trial of faster-than-light travel. The second part was to survey the terrestrial planet orbiting Sol’s closest neighbors in space.

Pete had been rechecking his final planetary approach calculations by hand, an old habit to satisfy a pilot’s instinctual distrust of a computer to control the ship. Jonesy had been preparing the computer to receive data from the sensor package they would drop into the planet’s atmosphere. But before they could enter the binary system, they started seeing strange readings from the outside sensors. The radiation monitors pegged in the red, just as the astronauts heard a series of popping noises and felt the ship lurch. Every alarm seemed to go off at once, a cacophony that was in turn nearly drowned out by the shriek of stressed metal and the whine of the ship’s engines as they struggled to compensate and keep them on course.

And suddenly it was as if a giant hand had reached out and flicked one end of the ship, sending them into a gut-wrenching spin. They didn’t even have time to grab their pressurized suits, so if they lost atmosphere, they were goners for sure. He remembered yelling at Jones to activate the homing beacon, then he was thrown against the restraining straps on his chair. He must have blacked out either from smacking his head or the g-forces as the ship spun out of control.

Now they had the flight data to fill in those gaps. While less than a day of subjective time passed on the ship, they slipped through some sort of…short-cut in space and time that threw them all the way back to Earth and a thousand years into the future. The ship had gotten knocked around but good; really it was a miracle that any of them had survived, with only one casualty out of three.

The data gave them a breadcrumb trail that they could follow, retracing their flight to reverse the journey, if—and it was a big if—they could find a working ship. And the hope that swelled inside him was tinged with relief. He finally felt the residual guilt he’d been carrying around for the last year start to lift. Guilt that their crash had been due to human error or could have been prevented somehow. But none of them could have foreseen such an anomaly—a wormhole, Pete had called it—let alone had any sort of plan of what to do when you found one. ‘Navigating Temporal-Spatial Wormholes: How Not To Be Completely FUBAR’ wasn’t exactly part of the Command School curriculum.

He was pulled out of his reverie by the door chiming. Looking up, he called for it to open. Burke leaned against the door frame, trying to look nonchalant.

“Hey, roomie,” he called to Virdon as a big grin spread across his face.

“Pete!” Virdon quickly skirted around the table and clapped his friend on the back. “Why didn’t you tell me Jed was letting you go today? I would have come over.”

“And do what, carry my luggage?” He held up two empty hands. He jerked his head over his shoulder as Zeke came in behind him. “Besides, Zeke made sure I didn’t find any trouble on the way here.”

“Well, if you’re going to be bunking here, we’re going to have to figure out some new sleeping arrangements—“ Alan waved in the direction of the small bedroom he and Galen shared. He didn’t think there’d be enough room for a third.

Zeke spoke up. “Actually, I’ve got more permanent quarters prepared, not far from here. We can wait until Galen arrives before relocating everyone.”

His bracelet beeped, but before he could even raise it to acknowledge, Levi’s voice boomed into the room, cold and clipped. “Ezekiel, report to central security. Bring the visitors.”

Zeke’s brow furrowed together in puzzlement. He opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he was going to say was drowned out by a blaring alarm broadcast from every computer controlled device in the room. Levi’s voice erupted from the speakers once more.

“Attention. Attention. The city is under attack. Initiate omega protocol.”

Zeke, Burke, and Virdon exchanged a startled look.

“Where’s Galen?” Zeke asked. Without waiting for either man to answer, he raised his bracelet. “Computer, locate Galen.”

“Galen is fifty meters from your position,” came the tinny reply.

“Let’s go.” He thumbed open the door and turned down the hallway at a jog. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that Burke and Virdon were following. Turning his attention forward, he saw Galen round a corner, coming toward them in his loping shuffle.

“What’s happening? Who is attacking?” Galen asked as they converged, his eyes wide and frightened.

“We’re going to find out. Come with us, okay?” Zeke tried make it sound like a request and not an order.

They didn’t spare breath for any more questions as Zeke led them to the security area. In the corridors, the other residents of the city rushed in every direction. Some were shepherding groups of children to more sheltered quarters, trying to quickly calm their crying and worried questions. And everywhere they looked, weapons had suddenly appeared. Rifles, sidearms, and sometimes heavier munitions were in the hands of every adult they passed.

When they got in the lift and started to ascend, Virdon cleared his throat to finally break the silence. “Zeke?”

Zeke turned a distracted look toward him. “Huh?”

“What’s the omega protocol?” he asked quietly.

“Oh. Uh, everyone has assigned duties in the case of an attack or emergency. Those who can fight report to predetermined locations, and those who can’t are taken to secure areas and guarded. I should be down in the power plant, to make sure it doesn’t get compromised.”

“When was the last time it was used?”

“Before my lifetime, or my parents’.”

Galen and Burke exchanged glances, both wondering if the situation had anything to do with their recent discoveries.

The lift stopped and Zeke slipped out the door before it even finished opening. They were close to the top of the city. A brief jog brought them to a large room filled with tables and monitoring equipment. Two guards stood outside, both holding rifles and wearing protective armoring. They nodded at Zeke as he led the others past and into the security center.

Malachi and Levi stood shoulder to shoulder, watching a large screen displaying a map schematic. Levi pointed was pointing to an area and conversing quietly with Mal.

“Levi?” Zeke strode up behind them and laid a hand on Levi’s shoulder. Both older men turned.

“Zeke. We’ve been infiltrated by a force of gorillas from the desert.”

“Infiltrated? How—“

“They came in one of the dome entrances. They had access codes. We don’t know how they got them.”

“What about the surveillance cameras, didn’t anyone see them coming?”

“The cameras were disabled.” He frowned. “This is a planned attack by an organized force. Not like anything we’ve seen from the gorillas before.”

“Their leader,” Mal interjected, “appears to be the gorilla from the hypertube depot in Vega. You called him Urko.”

“Urko?” Galen exclaimed. “How is that possible?”

“He must have ridden into the desert after us,” speculated Virdon, while Burke swore under his breath. Only Urko would be vindictive and relentless enough to ride into the Forbidden Zone to continue pursuing the three fugitives. His quest had obviously gone beyond duty and was now a personal obsession. The Ape Council would never have sanctioned his going into the Forbidden Zone, assuming he was even still following their orders. “Where are they now?”

“The main force has made it down to level three, mostly in the northeast sector. We shut down general access to the central lifts, but they’ve found the maintenance ladders and stairways.” Levi took a pad that was handed to him by an armed and armored woman. He scanned it for a moment. “Reports are coming in from fighting on several levels.”

“What we need to know from you,” Mal looked at Virdon, Burke, and finally Galen, whose gaze he held, “is where your loyalties lie.”

“If Urko’s behind this, it’s a good bet he knows we’re here. Give me weapon, I’ll help defend the city,” Burke declared. He threw a questioning look at Virdon.

“Look, we’re definitely on your side here; I’ll do my part,” Virdon offered.

Mal continued to watch Galen’s face. “Galen?”

“I—“ The chimp frowned. “Well, I’m certainly not going to join forces with Urko. But I don’t know that I can shoot him in cold blood, either. I… I… I’ve never wanted to hurt _anyone_ —“

“Galen doesn’t even have any training with weapons,” Virdon interrupted. “You can expect to send him into the middle of a gun fight!”

Mal nodded. “That’s about what I expected. He doesn’t have to fight. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to betray us.”

“Galen,” Levi cut off the others’ protests, “you can stay here in the command center.  Maybe you can even give us some insight into Urko’s strategy.”

“I’ll try, but I don’t know that I’ll be very helpful.”

“Zeke, take Alan and Pete to the armory, get them equipped. They can go with you down to the power plant, see to its defense.” Levi reached out and laid his hand over Zeke’s heart. “Be careful, son.”

 

******

The armory adjacent to the security command center was not as crowded as Burke and Virdon expected it to be. Zeke explained that there were other caches of weapons and armor hidden away on every level of the city for emergency situations.  The two astronauts were each fitted with a gray vest imbedded with articulated panels of a lightweight material that would absorb the impact from any projectile weapon. They were given open-faced helmets that would protect most of their heads, but leave their hearing and vision unimpaired.

The needler rifles they were issued shot very small caliber rounds that had a tiny explosive charge built into the sharp tip. Burke slotted the stock against his shoulder and looked down the sights to get a feel for the weapon. According to Zeke, the high velocity needles produced very little recoil.

“What’s the rate of fire?” Virdon asked.

“On full automatic, a hundred rounds a minute. If you pull the trigger and release, it shoots a burst of three shots. If you flip this switch,” he pointed to a thumb lever on the side of the barrel, “it changes to single shot. The magazine holds 200 rounds.” He grabbed several plastic cartridges from a shelf and gave a couple to each man. “Extra magazines. When the cartridge is empty, this counter reads zero and it automatically releases the empty. Pull it out and slap in the new one.”

“Yeah, the mechanics aren’t much different than the rifles we trained with, just a whole lot more firepower,” Burke commented, tucking the extra cartridges into his pockets.

Zeke checked a few more fasteners on their armor. “Listen, I’m sorry you guys got dragged into this. It isn’t your fight, and it wasn’t fair of Mal to ask you to risk yourselves.”

Virdon shook his head. “If Urko is behind this, it’s our fight as much as yours. And if we _are_ going to try to make Alba our home, then we have just as much to lose as everyone else.”

“Zeke, I thought you said that the desert gorillas had given up attacking the city. Why now? What do they want?” Burke asked.

“I don’t know. But the fact that they’ve gotten inside…” Zeke picked up his own rifle with a worried frown. “Well, whatever their strategy, we can’t let them get to the main power plant. If they knock that out, it could destroy the entire city. You ready?”

At a nod from both men, Zeke hoisted his own rifle and led them at a fast pace back to the central lift. The power plant was at the bottom of shaft, in the bowels of the city. The fusion reactor at its core was small, but produced enough energy to keep the city running. Environmental control and waste recycling were nearby, as the entire system was integrated and self-sustaining.

When Zeke tried to open the lift doors, a computerized voice requested a DNA scan for identity confirmation. Zeke pressed his thumb into a small indentation below the control panel to provide the required blood sample. After a scant few seconds delay, the door slid open.

“Power plant level,” instructed Zeke. The lift began to drop rapidly. A moment later, a staccato of pops and crunching noises filled the small space as the transparent walls of the lift cracked and pitted from weapons’ fire. Burke and Virdon instinctively hunched down and huddled against the interior wall, turning their faces away from the threat. Zeke squatted as best he could a moment later, after hitting the emergency stop.

“We have to get out of here—too vulnerable!” As the door opened, Zeke motioned to the others to follow him. Burke and Virdon, still crouching low, ducked out into the hallway for a quick look, rifles held at the ready. They followed Zeke when they saw it was clear of any enemies.

Zeke leaned back against the smooth metal of the hallway. “They must have gotten deeper into the city. We’re twenty levels down. The central shaft isn’t safe. We’ll have to take auxiliary lifts.” His voice shook almost as much as his hands.

“Okay, okay,” Virdon soothed. “Take a sec, Zeke. We don’t want to go rushing blindly into anything.”

“I—“ Zeke began, then took a deep breath. “It’s a lot different than the simulations. I’ve never been in actual combat before….”

Burke smirked. “Don’t worry, we have. What’s the plan, Al?” He automatically deferred to Virdon’s command.

“I’ll take point. Pete, you bring up the rear. Zeke, you just tell us where to go. We’ll get you where you need to be. Ready?”

Zeke nodded. “Down this corridor, then turn left.”

Virdon hoisted his rifle up to his shoulder again. “Fast and quiet, people. Go.”

Virdon quick walked in the direction Zeke had pointed, sighting down the barrel of his weapon as he moved. Burke shepherded Zeke along a few feet back, while he scanned behind them with his rifle. At the first corner, Virdon motioned for them all to flatten against the wall while he ducked around it. A wave of his hand indicated they should continue. They made a couple more turns the same way; Virdon’s internal compass told him they were working their way clockwise around the level and further from the central chasm.

They could see the door to the auxiliary lift at the end of the corridor when Virdon heard the sharp crack of a weapon being fired and he was slammed into the wall, bullets raking across his torso.

“Alan!” Burke cried out. He felt slivers of hot metal brush against his cheek, stinging, as blackened gouges appeared in the wall next to his head. He glimpsed a shaggy form pulling back into a side corridor as he pushed Zeke around a corner and pulled Virdon after him.

Virdon clamped a hand over his chest, sucking air. Burke did a quick check for wounds, but other than a cut on his arm from flying shrapnel, Virdon seemed unbloodied. Three dents in the armor across his chest showed how close he’d come to being killed.

“You hurt?” Burke shouted as ducked into the hallway and fired off a burst.

“Just bruised and winded,” Virdon gasped. “Zeke, is there another way we can go?”

“Yeah, we can—“

“Burke! Virdon!” The two astronauts exchanged a surprised look. “Lay down your weapons and surrender, and I’ll let your friend live!” Urko’s voice called from the other side of the hallway.


	15. This Is War

_It's the moment of truth, and the moment to lie,  
The moment to live and the moment to die,  
The moment to fight, the moment to fight  
To fight, to fight, to fight!_

 _I do believe in the light  
Raise your hands into the sky  
The fight is done, the war is won  
Lift your hands toward the sun_

 

The attack was going well enough that Urko was pleased. The information Urko had tortured out of Azrael gained them easy access to the city. While the main force of the Rephaim created a lot of noise and confusion as they worked their way into the city, a smaller force carrying two large cylinders moved quickly and quietly ahead of the spectacle, toward the bottom of the central shaft. Urko went with them.

When they got to the level containing the environmental support and power station, Urko would set the main group to figuring out how to release the deadly gas from the cylinders into the main air circulator. And while the others were distracted with that task, he would deal with the reactor. He’d encountered advanced technology before—Virdon and Burke’s ship, the cache beneath the city that Virdon had led them to—and he knew it was fragile, easily damaged and destroyed by the strength of a determined gorilla with a powerful firearm. He could convince the Rephaim that the reactor was damaged in the fight with the Emim; then, they would have no choice but to leave the city before it was destroyed. The entire wicked place would be consumed by fire and wiped clean.

Urko’s strike force had reached the twentieth level underground when they encountered a small group of humans and an angel that were armed and moving with a purpose. One of the gorillas strafed a burst of gunfire at them, hitting one of the humans across the torso. Then he heard it. The voice that cried out “Alan” belonged to Burke. A quick glance at the faces of the two humans confirmed it. Burke and Virdon. And one of the winged creatures. He ducked back behind the wall for cover as Burke returned fire in their direction.

“Burke! Virdon!” he called out to them. “Lay down your weapons and surrender, and I’ll let your friend live!” He didn’t believe that it would be that simple, but he was hoping to have the satisfaction of killing the two humans up close and personal while he watched the light fade from their eyes. But if they didn’t surrender and were killed in the gunplay, they were still just as dead.

“What do you want, Urko?” came the answering call from Burke.

“You, Virdon, and Galen. The only things I’ve ever wanted.” He made his offer again. “Surrender, and I’ll let the winged creature with you live.”

 

******

Burke knew Urko was lying. If he and Virdon put down their weapons, they would all be dead before they took two steps. He glanced over his shoulder at Virdon, whose tight-lipped expression and quick shake of his head confirmed his opinion on Urko’s overture. Zeke was rapidly tapping out a message on his bracelet link, presumably signaling for help.

 

******

Back in the security command room, Levi was directing a battle that now covered several levels of the city. Although the tide of the battle was turning in the Alban’s favor, there were still too many pockets of fighting that had to be quelled. Levi was ordering troops to make a fighting retreat and below where the current fighting was, to draw the remaining groups to a central location. His bracelet beeped with an incoming text message. When he saw who it was from, he grabbed Mal’s arm to get his attention. Galen stood nearby, studying a map with a myriad of blue and red shapes that represented both friend and foe.

“Zeke’s group is pinned down on level twenty. He says they were fired on in the central elevator and were trying to get to an auxiliary lift.” Levi raised his eyes to give Mal a concerned glance. “They found Urko; he wants Alan and Pete to surrender. They need reinforcements.”

“How did a group get that deep into the city already? I thought they hadn’t gotten past level eight!” Mal growled. “What could he be doing so far from the main body of his force, Galen?” He turned toward where the chimp had stood only a moment ago. “Galen?”

But Galen was gone.

 

******

Galen knew how to use his link to the central computer to locate the whereabouts of Burke and Virdon. He could even call up a map on the small screen that showed him how to get there while avoiding the central elevator shaft. The fall back position that Levi was trying to organize was only two levels above his location, so he had to move quickly if he wanted to avoid getting caught in pockets of fighting.

All he knew was that his friends were trapped by Urko. He had to get to them.

He hurried along a corridor, his thoughts churning. Had he and his friends brought this attack on the city? Urko leading this enemy force seemed to imply that he somehow knew that the three fugitives were being sheltered by the residents. Galen felt a guilty pang that so many were fighting and dying to protect him and his friends.

His map directed him to a service conduit that connected all the way down to the twentieth level. He pulled open the bulkhead and peered down the long narrow drop with a small whimper before swinging out onto the ladder to begin the long descent. When he got to the bottom of the conduit, he rested his head against the cool metal for a moment before emerging into the tunnel. His heart was galloping, and not from the strenuous climb alone. The thought of seeing Urko again, knowing that he had an armed force at his disposal, made the chimp’s blood run cold.

He checked his bracelet link again. Alan and Pete were not far from him on this level, just on the other side of a long corridor that led to a small elevator.

He pulled open the hatch just enough to peek out into the corridor. He didn’t see any sign of people, so he silently swung the door the rest of the way open. Sticking his head out, he looked up and down the empty hallway. He thought he could hear voices in the distance and the occasionally pop of gunfire. Quickly, he padded in the direction of his friends.

As he rounded a corner, he heard a low moan and smelled blood in the air before he saw the dark furry form crumpled against a wall. His wide eyes darted back and forth, checking for the presence of others, but the ape seemed to be alone. Galen scurried up to the injured ape and knelt next to him.

He gasped as he got his first look at the desert gorillas. The low, prominent forehead ridge, the jutting jaw and strangely shaped muzzle, and the thick barrel torso reminded Galen of the picture book from the past that had started his insane association with humans. The picture book that had gotten Farrow killed had showed a large gorilla confined in a barred cage like a common animal. When he asked Burke and Virdon about it, they confirmed that in their time, gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans _were_ considered animals, lacking intelligence and reason. This gorilla looked much more like that ancient picture than a modern ape.

The sand-colored robes swathing the gorilla were torn and stained with blood. As Galen pulled the fabric aside to get a better look at the wounds, the gorilla’s eyes snapped open, startlingly clear and filled with surprise.

“Who are you?” the gorilla grunted painfully. His speech was heavily accented, but not unrecognizable. He feebly tried to raise his weapon, but it clattered to the floor.

“My name is Galen. You should be still, you’re injured.”

The gorilla coughed wetly, a pink foam bubbling over his lips. Galen ripped a piece of fabric off of the hem of the robe and pressed the wadded cloth into the worst of the mess of the gorilla’s chest. The blood seeped through the cloth, and Galen could feel the slippery warmth of it on his hands. The gorilla reached up and gripped Galen’s arm.

“I’m sorry, Galen, we didn’t know. We… erred…” he gasped. His last breath left him as a whisper, and his hand fell away.

Galen sat back on his haunches in momentary silence. He considered the rifle that lay at the dead gorilla’s side but decided it looked far too complicated for him to use. A small, more familiar looking handgun was tucked into his belt, which Galen took and slipped into the waist of his own trousers.

After consulting the map again, he continued quietly down the hallway towards his friends. At the next corner, he could distinctly hear voices. Urko’s voice rang loudly in the confined space.

“These creatures won’t be able to save you, Burke. Their city will fall and everyone in it will die.”

“We’ll take our chances with them.” Burke’s shout was fainter.

 _Oh no_ , he thought. A quick glance around the corner at the milling backs of the gorillas confirmed his fear. Urko’s group was between him and his friends.

Wide-eyed, he frantically tried to get the link on his wrist to show him another way to his destination. He was still trying to get the touchscreen to respond when two gorillas appeared in front of him, weapons pointed at his chest. He raised his hands, still stained crimson with the gorilla’s blood, in surrender with a small whimper.

When one of the gorillas jerked his gun to motion Galen forward, he stepped around the corner with icy fingers of dread clawing at his throat. He was relieved of his weapon.

“Shulmanu!” Urko turned toward the gorillas. _Shulmanu? What a strange thing to call him_ , Galen thought. “We found this one in the corridor. He appears to be alone.”

Galen felt the rifle barrel dig into his back, urging him forward. Behind Urko, several of the other gorillas regarded Galen with wide eyes and gasps. A murmur began to buzz through the small group.

“Galen.” Urko’s voice dripped malice as a lurid grin spread across his face. “So nice to see you again.”

“Urko.” Galen’s voice was flat, his expression equally so, as he regarded the changes to the security chief. Urko was dressed in tan robes like the other gorillas, but his head was covered, a flap trailing down the back of his neck. His face and body were… wiry was the only word Galen could think of, like he’d been stripped down to just bare muscle and sinew. But it was the look in Urko’s eyes that gave Galen pause. Something in the rheumy gaze reminded Galen of the old ones that his mother used to visit at one of the local medical centers—the ones whose minds weren’t all there anymore. “What are you doing so far from Central City, Urko? Zaius can’t have sanctioned this attack.”

“Still Zaius’s errand boy? Not anymore, traitor. Zaius has no authority here.” Urko pounded a fist into his own chest. “I am in charge here.”

Galen shook his head, sorrow creasing the corners of his eyes. “All you are in charge of is death and destruction, Urko. Are all of these people dying just so you can exact some twisted revenge on me, Virdon, and Burke? Do you even care about the apes you are getting killed?”

With a growl, Urko grabbed Galen by the back of the neck and pushed him through the crowd. In his anger and haste, he didn’t notice the gorillas reaching out to reverently brush Galen’s clothing. And Galen was more concerned about the pistol in Urko’s other hand that pressed into his back than the strange actions of these apes.

“Burke! Virdon!” Urko called when they reached the intersection with another corridor. Urko thrust Galen out from cover, using him as a shield. “The missing member of your little group has arrived. Surrender now, or I’ll kill Galen.”

“Galen?” shouted Virdon across the space separating them. Galen could see small movements in another side corridor a few yards away.

Galen felt the gun in his back dig in sharply. “Yes, Alan. It’s me. I’m sorry.”

 

******

Burke and Virdon exchanged worried glances.

“Shit!” Burke swore softly. “What the hell is he doing here?”

Virdon shook his head. “I don’t know. The more important question is, what are we going to do?”

“Stall,” Zeke hissed sotto voce. “Keep him talking as long as you can. Levi has reinforcements on the way.”

Shrugging, Virdon turned back toward the corridor, pressing himself flat against the wall and edging as far forward as he could under cover. “Urko, if we surrender, what guarantee do we have that you won’t just shoot us all?”

Urko sneered. “You don’t.”

Burke dropped the end of his rifle and leaned it up against the wall next to Virdon. Before Virdon could stop him, Burke stepped into the hallway, hands raised in the air.

“Pete! What are you doing?” Virdon yelled behind him.

“Saving Galen.” He kept an eye on Urko and moved slowly into the hallway. “Okay, Urko, I’m all yours.”

“Virdon! I want Virdon, too.”

Burke heard his friend swear behind him and the rattle of a rifle being stowed. Virdon caught up with Burke, his hands also in the air. “So what’s the plan now, boss?” Burke asked Virdon out the side of his mouth.

“I was hoping you had one,” replied Virdon.

“Quiet!” Urko shoved Galen toward the two astronauts, his gun leveled in their direction. Burke put out a hand to stop the chimp from barreling them over.

“Oh, Alan, Pete, I’m so sorry.” Galen said contritely.

“S’okay, Galen, this Mexican standoff couldn’t last forever,” Burke replied. He raised his chin defiantly at Urko. “So what now, Urko? Do we all go back to Central City together for a joke of a trial?” He wanted to keep Urko talking in the hope that the reinforcements would show up before the gorilla decided just to shoot them all.

“Go back to Central City?” Urko barked a nasty laugh. “ _I’ll_ be going back to Central City eventually. But your bones will bleach in the desert sun.”

Virdon caught on to Burke’s idea. “So that’s what this was all about, Urko? Just a chance for revenge?”

Urko shook his head. “You have an over exaggerated idea of your importance, human. These good apes,” he waved a hand behind him, “have made me their leader. I’m helping them reclaim their home.”

Galen’s jaw went slack. “Their home?” he whispered.

“What are you talking about Urko?” Burke blurted, but the wheels were already turning, putting together the pieces in his head.

“You didn’t know?” Urko’s eyes narrowed, then lit up with a lurid amusement. “You didn’t know! These humans and their winged pets who you are so fond of—they turned these apes out to die in the desert. This is their home. This city belongs to them as much as anyone else.”

“Oh my god,” Virdon murmured.

“Yes, yes. They didn’t tell you that part of their history, did they? Like all humans, they are animals who don’t care about anyone but themselves. And like rabid animals, they will be put down. And once this city is destroyed, we’ll go to Central City and cleanse it of every last human. We’ll make the apes there see that they are tainted by the humans, that they need to purify themselves. We’ll remake it into a Paradise.” As he spoke, Urko’s face transformed into something wild and unhinged. The apes behind him shifted nervously, looking confused. They began to whisper to each other, the ends of their weapons dipping toward the floor in their distraction.

Galen stepped forward with a horrified look. “You’re going to use them to overthrow the ape government! You’re going to start a civil war!”

Urko raised his pistol and pointed it at Galen’s head. “No, I’m going to show them how apes _should_ live. But you won’t be around to see it.” His finger twitched on the trigger.

“No, Urko.” One of the gorillas behind him spoke sharply, instantly silencing the others. He grabbed Urko’s pistol and pushed the barrel down until it was pointing at the floor. “No.”

Urko sputtered. “What is the meaning of this, Misha? I am the Shulmanu! You have sworn to follow me!” He tried to pull the gun from the other’s grasp and raise it again, but Misha was too strong.

“No.” Misha said once more. “The Shulmanu would not desire to wage war on his own kind.”

From the corridor behind Burke and Virdon, a group of Albans burst into the main hallway, weapons drawn and ready. Noises from behind the small cadre of gorillas announced the arrival of Alban troops there as well. Flanked by armed enemies, the gorillas lowered their weapons and began to raise their hands in surrender. Zeke rushed over to Burke and Virdon and handed them their weapons.

Misha pulled the pistol from Urko’s surprise-slackened grip and dropped it to the floor along with his own weapon. He took a tentative step toward Galen.

“We rushed to believe that our prophecy had finally been fulfilled. That the Shulmanu had been delivered to us, to lead us to Paradise. But I fear we made a mistake in our haste. We do not kill other apes.” He curled his lip at Urko in disgust, then made a small obeisance to Galen. “You also fulfill the terms of the prophecy—an ape unlike our own people, who comes from the desert bearing blood on his hands. Now I don’t know what to believe.”

Galen tilted his head to one side. “We have a similar law. ‘Ape shall not kill Ape.’ But I… I killed an ape once. It was an accident! We were struggling, and the gun went off. My finger wasn’t even on the trigger. But I was called a traitor and sentenced to death.”

“You simpering fools!” Urko spat at Galen and Misha. “Galen isn’t a leader! He turned his back on his own kind and prefers to live with _humans_.” He made a face like the word tasted sour in his mouth.

“Urko!” Galen snapped. “We owe our existence to _humans_. They were here long before apes, and we would not be intelligent, thinking beings without their intervention!”

“You lie!” Urko struggled against the Albans holding his arms.

“No, Urko. The Rephaim are also the children of the Emim. This we know to be true.” Misha frowned, his voice growing gruff. “Imagine our anger at being rejected by our own creators.”

Galen started to say something, but Urko screamed “No!” He pulled one arm free enough to shove the Alban holding his other arm, then pulled his old pistol from his robe. He aimed it at Galen’s head and fired two shots.

 

******

As soon as Urko shrugged off his two guards, Misha charged toward him from the side, knowing his superior strength could subdue the other gorilla. Burke and Virdon both started forward, but realized they would be too late to keep Urko from firing the weapon that had materialized in his hand. Quarters were too close for them to shoot Urko without risking hitting bystanders.

Suddenly Galen was thrust backward by a large tawny wing, the feathers blocking his view of the tableau before him. He heard two reports from the pistol, his body jerking from the anticipation of impact.

And then Zeke was on the floor, bright blood flowing down his arm and matting the feathers on one wing.

“Zeke!” Burke knelt down next to the bleeding angel. One bullet had ripped through his wing near the apex, where thick muscle covered the joint. The other had punched a ragged hole into his shoulder just outside the protective margin of the armored vest. The bleeding was profuse.

“Pete,” gasped Zeke as he rolled onto his back.

Burke torn the sleeve from Zeke’s tunic to better expose the shoulder, then folded the fabric into a pad to press over the puckered wound. He heard Virdon calling for a medical team on his link.

“Hey, buddy, no fair being a copycat.” Burke tried to keep his tone light, but the amount of blood already soaking through the cloth pad was alarming. “I’m the only one allowed to be a big dumb hero here.”

Zeke moaned. “Is Galen okay?”

Galen knelt by Zeke’s crumpled wing, pressing another cloth over the less serious wound there. “Yes, Zeke, I’m fine, thanks to you. That was very brave.” He tutted. “And very foolish.”

A quick glance at Urko told Burke that the gorilla was secured. The entire group of gorillas was being led away under guard to clear the area for the medical team.

 _But how long will they take?_ Burke worried. _With the entire city in a battle, they must be swamped, plus they may have to get here through fighting…._

Another Alban knelt next to Burke and handed him a wad of gauze to replace the saturated makeshift bandage. He quickly swapped them out and pressed down hard, eliciting a yelp from Zeke.

“Sorry pal, I know it hurts. Just hang in there, the medics will be here any minute.” He looked up at Virdon.

“ETA is two minutes,” Virdon replied to the unasked question.

“Pete—“

“Yeah, Zeke? You shouldn’t talk. Save your strength.”

“Tell my family I’m sorry. And I love them.”

“Hey, tell ‘em yourself. You’re not going anywhere. Maybe later we can take a nice trip to Hawaii.” Burke smirked. “I wanna see if you can fly that far. I bet the surf is monster right now. We’re going to go to Hawaii, and I’m going to teach you to surf. So you gotta stick with me here, Zeke.”

He felt a lump of panic rising in his throat as Zeke’s eyelids began to droop.

“Hey, Zeke! C’mon, man, you gotta help me teach Galen to play poker. When we fleece the big monkey, I’ll split the pot with you.”

A hand pulled Burke back and away just as Zeke’s eyes slid closed. “I’ve got him, Pete,” Jed murmured as he and another healer knelt to work on their friend.


	16. Silent Lucidity

_Your mind tricked you to feel the pain  
Of someone close to you leaving the game of life  
So here it is, another chance  
Wide awake you face the day  
Your dream is over or has it just begun?_

Burke jogged behind the pod as Jed and his team rushed Zeke to the medical center. With the main force of the gorillas contained and neutralized, they could use the lift in the central shaft safely. He was barely able to squeeze in with all the equipment and healers. He’d shucked off his helmet, but still wore the armored vest.

As the lift descended, Jed tossed him a cloth to wipe the blood from his hands. Between all the exertion of running and the adrenaline now leeching from his system, his hands were starting to shake. He leaned against the cool metal of the lift wall and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to rally a reserve of energy. He wasn’t exactly sure how he got swept along with this group, but he was going to stick with them until he knew Zeke was out of danger.

The sensation that all the air had been sucked out of the room must have been how Alan felt watching the eerily similar scene a few weeks ago, Pete imagined.

Jed seemed cool and collected, but then, Jed was always frosty as a cucumber even in dire situations. He‘d worked with quick, efficient movements, injecting things into Zeke, spraying clotting foam over the wounds. No exit wound marred the back of Zeke’s shoulder, so Jed would have to operate to remove the bullet.

The lift slowed to a stop, and the door opened onto familiar territory. He trailed behind as they entered the main medical room. All the beds were crowded with wounded angels and humans, and even an occasional unconscious and restrained gorilla. Jed steered the pod to one of the side rooms, similar to the room Burke had been living in until today.

He brushed a hand over his eyes. Had it really only been this morning that he had left the medical center for good?

Jed put a hand on Burke’s chest when he tried to follow them into the treatment room. “Pete, you have to wait out here. I’ll let you see him as soon as he’s stabilized.”

“Yeah, okay,” he replied absently as the door slid shut. He was in a small, private waiting area. He sank down into one of the chairs, his legs suddenly turning to jelly.

He was still sitting there, his head resting in his hands, when Galen and Virdon arrived. After one look at Burke’s pale face, Virdon went to the servitor unit, returning a moment later with a nutrient drink. He pressed it into Burke’s hand and watched until he drank it all.

“Thanks, Al. I guess I needed that, huh?”

“Any word on how he’s doing?” Virdon asked quietly.

“Not yet. No news is good news, right?”

“He’s in good hands. And I’ve seen Jed perform miracles, y’know.” Virdon raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” He smirked half-heartedly. “Lucky for me. I just hope Zeke’s luck holds, too.”

Galen sat in one of the chairs, looking shell-shocked, staring at nothing. Burke waved a hand in front of his face. “Hey, Earth to Galen. You really okay, pal?”

With a little shake, Galen focused on Burke. “Yes, I’m fine. I just can’t believe that Urko shot at me. And that he was going to try to start a war against Central City. It’s all too much to believe.”

“Well, did you see his eyes? He looked like the elevator wasn’t going to the top floor anymore,” Burke opined in his usual cryptic fashion. When Galen glared at him, he looked apologetic. “He looked like he’d lost it, gone crazy. Not that he was the most stable individual to begin with. And he wouldn’t be the first person to go nuts wandering in a desert.”

“I think you’re right.” Galen sighed. “Maybe we really are no better than humans. Urko wanted to wipe out two species and kill anyone of his own species who stood in his way.”

“Galen, all that proves is that every species has its bad apples,” Virdon folded his arms across his chest. “Welcome to the human condition, or in this case, the simian condition.”

The door to the main medical area opened. Malachi strode into the room with Levi in his wake. They both had tense, worried expressions.

“Alan, what is Ezekiel’s condition?” asked Mal. He stood aloof while Levi clasped hands with them each in greeting.

“Jed’s in with him now. That’s all we know.”

“What happened?” Levi asked. “All we were told is that he was shot.”

Galen stood. “He saved my life. Urko tried to shoot me, and… and Zeke pushed me out of the way. The bullets struck in him the wing and shoulder.”

“You shouldn’t have left the security center, Galen.” Mal growled. “If you hadn’t gone down there—“

“If Galen hadn’t come down there, those gorillas would still be following Urko’s orders,” Burke countered. “Galen is the reason they stopped backing Urko. He’s the reason they surrendered without more bloodshed. Without him, we’d probably all be dead!”

The door to the treatment room opened, and Jed stepped unaware into the middle of the argument. Burke and Mal fell into a lull as they all turned toward Jed expectantly.

“He’s going to be fine. I removed the bullet in his shoulder and repaired the artery it nicked. He lost a significant amount of blood, but it could have been much worse. The wing damage was superficial.”

“How many other casualties are there, Jedediah? Just a rough estimate?” Mal asked.

Jed passed a slightly trembling hand over his eyes. “I don’t have the official reports yet. We’re treating everyone we can, including a number of the gorillas.” He raised his chin at Mal’s frown, daring him to question his medical judgment. “But there are probably going to be a couple dozen dead. Several more dozen wounded to various degrees.”

“Well, we’ll need your report as soon as possible. Is Ezekiel awake? Can we see him?’

“He’s still unconscious, probably will be for several hours yet. You can see him briefly in a moment. There’s one other thing I wanted to mention, Malachi.” He continued more quietly. “About the gorillas. They have certain gene markers… that were proprietary to Eureka Genomics. They wouldn’t have them unless… unless they were created here, by the same company that created my species. But there is nothing in the city records about experiments with gorillas.”

“One of the gorillas said they were created by the ‘Emim’,” Galen interjected, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “That this was their home, but they were ‘rejected by their creators’.”

“And Urko said they were driven out of the city into the desert to die,” Burke added, a step ahead of Galen.

Mal’s jaw clenched and his hand curled at his sides. “Yes, they were created here.”

“You bastard,” Burke hissed, rounding on Mal. “You knew about them, you knew where they came from, and you didn’t do a damn thing about it!” Burke looked over his shoulder at Jed, who stood stock-still and open-mouthed. “Jed, did you and Zeke know, too? Tell me you didn’t know, man.”

“I…I didn’t,” he stammered.

“They didn’t know,” Mal growled at the same time. “The only ones who ever knew were heads of the Council.”

“And you did nothing. All these years, you did nothing.” Galen said quietly, eyes glistening.

“What would you have me do?” Mal looked back and forth between Burke and Galen. “Should I have brought them back into the fold and let them feast on our children? Or should I have turned the city over to them and exiled the rest of us to the desert?”

“You could have helped them! Maybe they wouldn’t have to eat people if they had enough other food!” Burke threw the accusation at him.

“You don’t understand. Humans and angels are their preferred food source. They are cannibals!” Mal spat out each word. “They are monsters!”

“Short bowel syndrome,” Jed said quietly, then added more forcefully, “Every gorilla we’ve examined so far has short-bowel syndrome. I bet they all have it.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Burke asked.

“They…ah… they can’t digest anything other than protein. Meat is the only food source that has any nutritional value. I can’t say for sure, but it’s a common mutation caused radiation exposure, probably several generations back.”

“But apes are vegetarians…” Galen murmured in a shocked voice.

“So the radiation made them that way? You kicked them out of the city into a radioactive wasteland. You created them and then threw the entire race out like so much trash!“ Burke shouted, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

“Yes, our ancestors created them. Our human ancestors. Your descendants.” Mal stabbed a finger at Burke’s chest. “So can you say that we are any more responsible for the existence of these creatures than you are?”

“But we didn’t turn them out into the desert to die! Times got tough, and you threw them to the wolves!”

“Again, not us! Our ancestors. At what point are we no longer culpable for the sins of our ancestors? A hundred years? Two hundred years? It’s been over three hundred years! Do you know how many different atrocities your ancestors committed in the three hundred years before you were born? African slaves…massacres of indigenous Americans… and those were the ones on this continent alone. So don’t you stand there and claim the high moral ground with me.”

Burke stared at Malachi, tight-lipped and fuming. “But there’s a big difference. I didn’t have a chance to make it right. You do.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “So what are you going to do now?”

“Right now,” Mal replied, returning the glare, “I’m going to go see my son.”

After Mal and Levi went into Zeke’s room, Burke caught Jed by the arm. “Jed, he’s really going to be okay?”

“Yes, Pete. You probably saved his life, you know. But he’s going to be fine.”

“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Listen, I’ll be back, me and Alan and Galen have some things to take care of.”

“We do?” Virdon asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, we’re gonna go talk to those gorillas.”

******

Locating where the gorilla prisoners were being detained was easy enough. Urko was being kept in a separate room, but the main group of gorillas was divided and locked into a series of large empty rooms. The guards obviously hadn’t been given any orders to prevent visitors. Figuring out which one was the gorilla Urko had called Misha was a little trickier. But the apes that had been brought in with Urko were together in one room.

The guards opened the door, rifles ready to prevent any attempt at escape. The gorillas backed away from the door, cowed and defeated. Burke stepped forward.

“Misha? Which one of you is Misha? We just want to talk,” he reassured the skittish group.

One of the gorillas finally pushed through the throng, touching a shoulder here, and arm there, as if to give them encouragement. The remaining gorillas began to talk in hushed tones, a few of them pointing at Galen with awed expressions.

“I am Misha.” He looked over at Galen. "I’m glad to see you are unharmed, Galen.”

Burke turned back to the two guards. “Is there somewhere we can go to question him privately?” The guards looked like they were about to balk, so Burke added, “We just came from talking to Malachi. He’s going to be busy in the medical center for a while, so we came to start interrogating the prisoners until he can get here.” None of which is a lie, Burke thought.

Virdon and Galen both flashed him wide-eyed glares from behind the guards, but he hoped they would go along with his deception.

"There is an empty room down the hall,” one of the guards said. He pointed his weapon at Misha. “This way. Don’t try to escape.”

“I won’t,” Misha answered, holding his hand out placatingly.

The group followed the guards to a small room down the hall furnished with a table and chairs. Burke convinced the guards that one of them waiting outside the door would be sufficient assurance of Misha’s good behavior. As soon as the door closed, Virdon hissed to Burke, “What are you doing, Pete?”

“I have an idea. Trust me,” he whispered back with a smirk. “Misha, sit down. Are you injured at all, do you need any medical treatment?” He leaned on the table as the gorilla sat tentatively in a chair.

“No, I’m fine. “ Misha tilted his head to one side, obviously perplexed. “They are treating us well.”

“Good, good.” Burke rubbed his hand over his chin. “Misha, I was hoping you would tell us more about this prophecy you mentioned. The one that got you all fired up to follow Urko here and attack the city.”

“I am not the Keeper of the Prophecy. Grul is the Keeper, but he stayed back in the village with our leaders, in case we did not return.”

“Well, since this Grul isn’t here, can you just give us the general story? We understand if it’s not the official version,” Burke pressed.

Misha frowned, considering for a moment. “The prophecy of Botis tells of a leader who will come to the Rephaim—that is the name of our race—from the desert. An ape who is not like us. And he would come bearing blood on his hands.”

“And Urko came from the desert?” Virdon prompted.

“Yes. We found him half-dead in the desert a day’s ride from our village. He wore strange clothing, and his gloves were stained with dried blood. Perhaps that is where we erred in our interpretation. Gloves are not the same thing as hands.”

“This leader, what was he supposed to do?” Galen joined in.

“The Shulmanu—the leader—would help us return to our home in Paradise, which we shared with the Emim and the Anakim until Great Tribulation.” Misha looked between them expectantly.

“Who are the Emim and the Anakim, Misha? And what is the Great Tribulation?” Burke asked quietly, even though he was pretty sure he already knew the answers.

“You are Emim. And you,” he pointed at Burke and Virdon. “The Anakim are the winged-ones. The Emim created the Anakim and the Rephaim, but they loved the Anakim more. They expelled us into the Desecration, which was what was left of the land after it was destroyed by the fires of the Great Tribulation.”

“The nuclear war,” Virdon murmured.

“Yeah,” Burke agreed quietly. “Look, Misha, you said that Galen might be this Shulmanu instead of Urko. What if he were to lead you and find a way for you to return to the city without having to kill anyone?”

“But how? Why would the Emim allow us to return to the city now? They rejected us, found us unworthy.”

“I think,” Burke spoke slowly and deliberately, “that the Emim and the Anakim who live here now don’t really know what their ancestors did. And I think if they did know… I think they would believe that what was done to your people was wrong.”

Misha opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the door opening. Malachi stood in the entry, his wings raised high above his hunched shoulders, blocking most of the doorway. He glared at the scene before him, his jaw clenching.

“We have called an emergency Council meeting to question their leaders. Urko is being taken to the Council chamber now.” He turned his gaze on Misha. “Do you also speak for these apes?”

“I am not—“

“Yeah,” interrupted Burke. “He’s got all the goods on Urko and why they are here, Malachi. He’s the ape you need to be talking to.”

“I will deal with you later,” Mal growled at Burke. “However, since you know this Urko, the Council would like the three of you to attend the questioning as well.” He turned to the guard just outside. “Secure the gorilla, then bring all of them to the Council chamber.” He gave one last look to the other three. “Consider yourselves lucky I don’t have you taken there in restraints as well.”

******

The Council chamber was a vortex of noise. The Elders shouted and argued; evidently the story of the apes’ origin had reached the other eight. They fired questions at Malachi, who answered every one his usual quiet steely voice. Levi stood to one side, still wearing an armored vest, as he and two others guarded a much subdued Urko.

The former general had restraining straps around his wrists that attached to a belt around his waist, pinning his arms at his sides. From the glassy-eyed glare he gave Burke, Virdon and Galen when they entered, Burke would guess that he was also drugged to the gills. Levi was obviously not taking any chances, which was just fine by Burke. If looks could kill, Urko would have already murdered him from across the room.

Misha wore the same restraints, despite his cooperation and Galen’s protest, but he’d not been drugged. Looking around, Burke saw Jed sitting in the gallery in the back, arms crossed over his chest and a completely pissed off expression on his face.

Finally, Malachi picked up a wooden knob and rapped it loudly on a matching base. After three tries, the room settled into a tense silence. Malachi sat back with fingers steepled under his chin and waited until all eyes were on him before he spoke.

“By now, everyone seems to have heard that these apes were once residents of this city, centuries ago—“

“But why are we only learning this information now, Malachi?” one of the human men asked. “Why was this information kept from the rest of the Council?”

“Because, Darius, the head of the Council has traditionally kept certain secrets for the good of the city.”

“Tradition?” Darius scoffed. “Well, when this crisis is past, I think we will need to revisit the wisdom of such traditions.”

Mal took a deeper breath, and began a formal recitation. “Our ancestors decided to reduce the population of the city in a time of limited resources. Later, the Council decided to expunge all records of the origins of these apes from our histories. Eventually, all knowledge of them slipped from the common memory of the people.”

“We are not here today to debate the merit of their decisions, for no matter how much we may wish to, we cannot change the past. But as I have recently been admonished,” he flicked the barest glance in Burke’s direction, “we do have the power now to make right past… mistakes.”

Burke leaned over and murmured in Virdon’s ear. “Yeah, because those chickens have come home to roost.”

Malachi sat forward. “Urko, as the leader of these creatures—“

“Urko does not speak for us anymore,” Misha announced loudly. “We followed him because he seemed to be a leader spoken of in prophecy. But he has proven to be unstable and heartless. He wishes to use my people to make war on his own kind. I believe we were wrong to follow him.”

“May I say something?” Galen asked the Elders. “Urko is not one of these apes; I’m ashamed to say that he is one of my kind. He followed me and my friends here for revenge, to kill us and anyone else in his path. But you know me, you know that I only desire for all intelligent creatures to be able to live together in peace. And there are many others of my kind who feel that way, too. Do not judge other apes by Urko’s actions. He is ‘a bad apple’ as my friends would say.”

“Traitor!” Urko raised his shaggy head and screamed at Galen. “You talk of virtue, but you are a murderer and a traitor! All of you, you’re the same! Lying, sniveling weaklings….” He struggled against his captors. With a nod from Mal, Levi pressed an injector to Urko’s neck. A moment later, the large gorilla went slack.

“Remove him,” Malachi ordered in the sudden quiet. Once the guards had dragged Urko out of the chamber, and the large door swung closed again, Mal looked at Misha. “We have a difficult road ahead of us. Misha, a great deal of time has passed since your species and ours were on friendly terms. We know that your people have killed and eaten humans and angels—“

“No!” Misha protested. “We only eat the flesh of the human animals who live in the ruins. They are little better than the beasts of the desert. They cannot even speak, cannot think or reason. Yes, we have killed Emim and Anakim, but never for food.” His face darkened with anger. “You turned us out into the desert! Many Rephaim died from hunger and sickness. Our children were born deformed or even died within their mothers. We did things we were not proud of, turned out the deformed children, to keep ourselves pure, as the Emim taught us long ago. But even in the midst of the worst of our hunger, we have never eaten Nephilim—other intelligent beings.”

Jed stepped forward. “They didn’t have a choice but to eat so much meat. They all have a physiological defect that prevents them from digesting anything else. But we could find alternative sources of protein for them. We might even be able to prevent the condition in future generations.”

“Malachi,” Galen spoke up again. “It seems that you have been mistaken about a great many things concerning these apes. Perhaps a way can be found to let them live here again, if they agree to do so peacefully.”

“I don’t think we could come to a final decision about that without further discussion, both among the Elders and with the gorillas’ leaders, Misha. If we send a message to them, would they come here?”

“If I went to them and told them of what happened here today, yes, I think they would.” He looked over at Galen. “And I’d ask that Galen come as well, if he is willing.”

“What about Urko?” Burke asked.

“Yes,” Mal drew out the word. “He represents a conundrum. We don’t have the facilities or the desire to detain him as a prisoner indefinitely. And we can’t just let him go.”

“What about taking him back in the train that brought us here? Dump him back in ape territory?” Virdon suggested.

“And what is to stop him from finding his way back here again?” Mal frowned.

Jed spoke up again. “I think I have a solution. Certain drugs induce retrograde amnesia—memory loss for short periods of time,” he turned to Burke, “similar to what you experienced, Pete, as a result of your injuries. Except I can make his amnesia permanent. I can make him forget the last several weeks, and we can fake a head injury that will give him a plausible explanation. He won’t remember any of it. Not the train station, the trip through the desert, our city. None of it.” He shrugged. “It’s the best solution all around, I think.”

“I guess we aren’t going to be lucky enough for him to forget that we ever landed here, that he ever met us, huh?” Burke asked wryly, looking around at no one in particular. “Too much to ask?”


	17. Somewhere Only We know

_I walked across an empty land  
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand  
I felt the earth beneath my feet  
Sat by the river and it made me complete_

“Hey, pal, how are you feeling?” Burke asked after settling into a chair next to Zeke’s bed. He took the hand Zeke reached out and clasped it firmly.

“What was that phrase you used? ‘Did you get the number of that truck?’” he smiled weakly.

“Yeah, that’s it. Don’t worry, Jed’ll have you up and around in no time.”

“I hear you’ve been causing all sorts of trouble without me…”

“Well, you know me, trouble is my middle name.” He smirked. “I don’t know that Mal will ever forgive me, though, for the rest of the Elders finding out about the skeletons in his closet.”

“Jed told me. I can’t believe our ancestors erased all trace of the gorillas from our histories. Why would they do that?”

“I think they thought it would be easier for people not to remember. If they remembered, they might try to right the wrong that was done. It’s been tried in the past by other groups who wanted to revise history to make themselves coming out smelling better. We have a saying—‘those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it’.” He shrugged. “I guess we have pretty lousy memories as a race, because we certainly seem to keep repeating the same hit parade of mistakes over and over again.” Pause. “But I think Mal will do what’s right now that the cat’s out of the bag.”

“He is a good man, Pete. And a good leader. I may not always agree with him, and we butt heads more often than not, it seems, but he does care about this city and its residents. And that’s not just a child’s idolatry of his parent talking.”

“No, I believe you. I do think Mal has good intentions.” Burke cocked an eyebrow. “But sometimes people can do horrible things in the name of good intentions.”

Zeke shifted in the bed and winced as the movement pulled on his wound. “So where are Alan and Galen?” he asked.

“Galen rode out this morning with the group going to the gorilla’s village to talk to their big poobahs. Misha thinks Galen is some prophesied leader, and that the elders of his village will pretty much do anything he asks. Galen is hoping to talk them all into trying to reach a peaceful resolution with the Council, so they can all live here. I hope it works out.”

“Alan,” Burke sighed. “Alan went with the security team to take Urko back to Vegas, to drop him in ape controlled territory. Personally, if I never have to look on that nasty piece of work again, it’ll be too soon. Hopefully whatever mojo Jed did on Urko’s memory holds, and he doesn’t come back out here looking for us. We may finally be rid of him entirely.”

Zeke smirked. “I can agree with you on that one.” He reached up and rubbed at his bandaged shoulder. “Sounds like you’ve been busy. And that I missed all the good stuff.”

“Well, you just gotta get up and around soon then, because we still got a whole lot going on. Alan still wants to make the trip out to Kirtland, and now that the threat of the gorillas is gone, hopefully Mal will agree. And we still need to teach Galen to play poker. I’m telling ya’, you and me, we can take the big monkey for everything he’s worth. Which admittedly, isn’t much, but we’ll have the satisfaction of bragging rights.”

“Hey, I only got one question for you, Pete.” Chuckling, he tilted his head to one side. “What’s surfing?”

******

Burke was sitting vigil by Zeke’s beside while he slept, a reversal of the roles they’d assumed over the past weeks, when Mal arrived to visit. Levi had been in and out several times when Zeke was awake, but Mal had been occupied with Council business all day. He was finally able to break away before heading home for some badly-needed sleep. When the door opened and he saw Burke sitting at Zeke’s beside, he scowled and almost turned around to leave. Fists clenched at his sides, he forced himself to take a deep breath and relax his hands. As he stared at Burke, his brow smoothed out and a look of resignation touched his eyes.

“Pete, can we talk? Out here,” he indicated the waiting room outside the door, “where we won’t wake Zeke?”

Burke considered for a moment then unfolded himself from the chair with a sigh. He waved a hand for Mal to go ahead of him through the door. Once the door was closed, they both spoke at once.

“I’m sorry,” Burke murmured.

“I didn’t mean to—“ Mal stopped when he realized what Burke had said. He raised a hand forestall another apology. “Let me say my peace.” His wings fluttered in agitation. “I didn’t mean to blame you and your friends for what’s happened here. I know you didn’t have anything to do with Urko convincing the Rephaim to attack the city. From what we’ve learned, they probably would have attacked sooner or later even without Urko. And having Galen here probably did mitigate the violence and bloodshed.”

He suddenly found an examination of his shoes extraordinarily fascinating. “I… I know Zeke thinks very highly of you as a friend. I hope that friendship will continue, and you and Virdon and Galen will consider staying here. We can use some new perspectives and fresh ideas as we try to heal this rift in our city’s history.”

“Okay. Can I say something now?” Burke asked with a touch of impatience. Mal nodded. “Look, I’m sorry that I doubted your honor and your good intentions. I think the things that we have in common far outweigh the things we disagree on, Malachi.” He smiled. “I like it here. And I know Alan and Galen do. I’d be happy to call this home, and I think in time, they will, too.”

******

When Virdon and Galen returned from their travels, the three friends were finally able to settle into their new quarters. They gathered together that night in Burke’s rooms for dinner.

“Zeke should be released from the medical center in the next day or two,” he told the others. “He’s going to need a bit more time to recover and to help the city get back to normal, but that will also give us time to work on planning the excursion to Kirtland. He’s agreed to come with us.”

“That’s fantastic, Pete.” Virdon’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “I really think the base could give use some solid leads on finding a working ship. “

Burke smiled encouragingly, even though he didn’t share Virdon’s optimism. But he would do whatever it took to either return Virdon to their time or get him to accept this time as their new home.

“What about you, Galen? You going to come with us to Kirtland, or are you too busy in your new position?”

When Galen had arrived in the gorilla’s village with Misha, Grul had been shocked to learn of Urko’s behavior. And at first, he hadn’t wanted to consider that perhaps he’d been wrong in pronouncing Urko the Shulmanu. But once Misha explained Galen’s appearance and his role in the battle, Grul declared that he needed to meditate so that the prophecy could speak to him more clearly.

“Maybe,” Galen had told Grul, “when you are choosing a leader, you should look less at signs and portents from the past and more at the heart and character of the ape in front of you. Urko never had your best interests at heart, only how he could use you to further his interests.”

In the end, the gorillas decided that they would listen to the Albans’ proposals, and try to find a way to live in harmony. And that Galen, if not a sacred leader, would at least be considered a friend and trusted advisor.

“I think I can probably come along. Misha might even be able to help us pass safely through the desert and the city ruins. His people have traveled that area extensively.”

“Do you think Misha’s people will be able to integrate back into the society here?” Virdon asked. “There are going to have to be a lot of adjustments, on both sides.”

“It will take a while. For now, the Rephaim are going to set up their village outside, around the city. But they will get help and education from the people here. It may take a generation, but eventually, they should be able to come live here again.”

“So is this it then, Galen? You aren’t going to try to go back to your people anymore?” Burke cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Urko may have forgotten where we are, but he hasn’t forgotten about who we are or what we’ve done. If I go back there, I’ll still be a wanted ape. I’ll miss my family, but these apes need me here. I think I can be happy here.”

“Yeah,” interjected Virdon, “Urko’s going to have a lot of explaining to do when he gets back to Central City, but hopefully we’ll have seen the last of him.”

“Oh, I think we have.” Galen raised the glass of juice he’d been sipping and tilted it toward the others. “I’d like to propose a toast. To a new tomorrow. For all of us.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Human Nature](https://archiveofourown.org/works/798566) by [Gryph](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gryph/pseuds/Gryph)




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